Importance of Game Selection in Poker
If you don't limit your play to games you can beat, then you aren't likely to beat the game. Game selection is the most important element of poker. I've seen some estimates that it's 80 percent of what makes a winning player.
Your winnings from poker don't come from your excellent play. If every player played flawlessly, the money would just oscillate among the competitors, with the house collecting an amount, at the end there would be no winners except for the house. But that is not what actually happens. There are net losers, and definitely there are net winners. Some of the unfortunate losers are sometimes even better competitors than the winners. The difference isn't because of luck, it lies in who their opponents are. This does not mean that you need to be the best player at the table. You don't. In fact, if most of the other players play only slightly better than you, then one really bad player is probably enough to make the game worth playing.
Let's suppose for a minute that I'm one of the ten worst poker players in the world, and let's suppose you're among the ten best. If I always play with nine players worse than me and you always play with nine players better than you, then I'll be a consistent winner, and you'll be a consistent loser.
What does that tell you about what's important for becoming a winning poker player? Many winning poker players develop a reputation as lucky. They accumulate larger wins more often than do other players who seem just as skilled. Often these players are highly skilled at identifying exploitable situations. They seem lucky because they pick those opportunities to get lucky. Almost always these lucky players are those who choose good games. Once they are in the game, they identify individual player characteristics that can be exploited.
Your profits come from your opponents' mistakes. Even if you don't play well, as long as you play with players who make more mistakes than you, you'll win.
For most players it's not enough to pick a game with weak players. You also need to pick a game you'll enjoy. Poker is not an armed conflict, it's a game. The whole point of playing any game is to have fun, and poker is no exception.
Every game has a kind of personality of its own. Your long-term success depends on matching the personality of the game to your own personality. You'll win more money if you're having fun.