becoming a better poker player

Becoming a more proficient poker player requires that you pay attention to your opponents' moves and mannerisms during the course of a poker game.Hands and situations repeat themselves over and over again in poker, and it is the wise player who benefits from these experiences and can apply the knowledge gained to future hands.
Getting better means more than just learning from your mistakes.A smart player also learns from his wins, and from other players wins and losses, and from their mistakes and strong plays.Each situation must be examined to see how the hand could be played optimally.
Just because you won a hand doesn't mean you played it well.Perhaps you could have won a bigger pot, or perhaps you should have forced out another player and got lucky when he didn't draw out on you.Or in losing, maybe you stayed in one card too many, or shouldn't have played the hand at all.
If you constantly stay aware of how the game is being played, and keep track of the tendencies of other players, you can't help but become a better player.And playing better means winning more.

[How to play winning Poker, Avery Cardoza, p.74]