This article was written by Andrew Wiggins, AKA “Muddywater,” an instructor for CardRunners.com.

Serious poker players have turned to online play in such high numbers because so many games are available around the clock and because multitabling is so beneficial. These same qualities, however, can turn poker into a grind, and that can be damaging both to your psychology and to the quality of your play.

Live play is often disparaged among online players because you see so few hands, but the slower pace of live play gives you more time to process information. You’ll also have to rethink some basic situations. Preflop situations that are automatic online can be closer live, where I think you often need to play tighter. You also have access to different kinds of information live; you can, for example, keep much closer track of each player’s mood. Online, where you can’t see your opponents and might have played thousands of hands against them, it can be easy to neglect the day-to-day and minute-to-minute changes in their styles. This is more obvious live, and sensitizing yourself to this type of information can improve your attention to game textures when you get back online.

Another advantage of playing live is that it focuses you on not only on your opponents games but also on your own. Due to the fact that you are seeing less hands than online, you must ensure that you minimize any mistakes you may make in a hand. While one mistake during an online session can hurt your results, it likely will not destroy the overall session. However, during a live session, one mistake can have an enormous impact on your total results. Developing the mindset to focus on every individual hand and eliminate mistakes is a skillset that is sometimes overlooked by multitabling online players. If put to use, it can greatly improve your results.

Putting in hours live isn’t the only way to mix up your games. A cash-game player can also begin playing tournaments. One immediate and obvious benefit is that because tournaments present new challenges and situations, you’ll have new things to learn. Feeding your urge to learn about poker, whatever the format, is great to do, and it will likely carry over into your main game. Look at Phil Ivey live and “mr. menlo” online; they both play tournaments and cash games. Brian Townsend is even picking up limit Omaha-8.

Mixing up your poker games has other advantages besides keeping you fresh. Learning other forms of poker can greatly assist in your ability to read hands. Reading hands is one of the most important abilies to have in poker. When you are presented with different situations in other games, you will be forced to learn your opponents’ range in new conditions. Being able to accurately put your opponent on a specific range of hands is invaluable in any form of poker.

All poker players need to work on their game constantly in order to be successful. By trying new games, I’ve enjoyed myself, found holes in my game, and increased my desire to learn about poker; you can do the same.