I highly recommend you diversify your poker game by learning variations of poker other than Texas hold em.  Look at the top hold em players – one of the few things they have in common is they have all learned other forms of poker.  These top players have stayed on top because they constantly thirst for knowledge.  It is through the mastery of other games that you improve your skills in your bread-and-butter games.  Skills like flexibility and patience are honed as well as the ability to honestly critique your progress.

There are a ton of variations out there.  You can play Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi-Low, Stud, Stud 8, 2-7 triple draw, Razz, and many more.  If you would like to learn a new game but can’t decide on one, Pot Limit Omaha would be a great place to start.  Although the strategy changes considerably, it’s the closest to hold em and is the easiest for a hold em player to learn.  The rules of Omaha are the same as hold em except in Omaha you are dealt 4 hole cards and must use exactly two of them (that means no one card flushes like in hold em).

By learning a new game you get a fresh start.  You are starting over at zero having neither won money nor lost money in this new game.  It’s exciting to start fresh when you have the advantage of previous poker experience.  It’s a major advantage over the competition.  By moving down a few levels and taking the time to learn this game, you can see some encouraging results rather quickly.

When you take up a new game it exercises your mind considerably.  Even though it’s practice for a different game than your main one, it still works the brain in ways it’s not used to working.  For example in Omaha there are certain draws on the flop that are actually favorites to win the hand over the top set.  These situations and subsequent adjustments force you to change your way of thinking – it makes the mind more flexible.

When you go back to hold em, you’ll bring this flexibility with you and will see the game through new eyes.  I recommend you give it a shot sometime.  Just move down a couple levels and make it your goal to learn the new game.  In fact, the lack of this burning drive to learn is a major factor behind many failing poker careers.

If you properly learn a new type of poker, you will be amazed by the soft games.  There are all kinds of opportunities in non hold em games.  Right now there are people absolutely cleaning up in pot limit Omaha with win rates two and three times higher than those in hold em.

There’s just not as much strategy information out there for your competition.  By now most of your opponents in hold em have learned some basic strategy and aren’t spewing chips everywhere like in the golden Party Poker days pre UIGEA.  In Omaha, though, there are still plenty of donators.  On top of that Omaha is an action game.  People like to gamble it up and play big pots.  Most of these people have played hold em before and they like the fact that Omaha gives you four cards to work with.  They like the big hands and big pots in this action game.  Take a look at the online high stakes Pot Limit Omaha games sometime; there are people making an absolute killing on there at 200/400 ($40,000 buyin) and higher.

So give it a shot and try out a new game sometime.  In fact, one of the best times to try a new game is during a hold em downswing.  It’s a nice break from the monotony and can help push you out of that downswing.  Moving down and learning a new game will help you regain the focus and drive that sometimes suffers during bad downswings.

Worst case scenario is you don’t like the new game and come back with a new appreciation for hold em.  Best case is you find a new source of profits, expand your experience, and have a good time.  Good luck!