As you move up steps make sure you pick your games carefully.

I had a nice little run in the PCA steps and found Steps 4 and 5 by far the easiest stages I played, and even Step 6 wasn't that bad, it just wasn't my game but I took a nice cash prize. As I moved up the steps I started observing which SNG players were playing regulary in the high stakes games, and roughly what times they were playing. I used Sharkscope to scout the unknowns.

After a few days I finally found a game that was nearly full with losing and lower stakes players, with only one or maybe 2 strong players in and I joined.

IMO Game selection, more than my skill or luck in the game, helped me move up.

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Still Trying to Learn the Science & Discover the Art