Poker Tracker is an invaluable tool... I have uninstalled and reinstalled that hting so many times Pat has to hate me by now, asking for a key every time.. lol
It has helped me on many of my leaks ... and shows me a new leak every time I look it seems
Seriously though spending hours analyzing stats, reading message boards, and articles on the game helps imensely. You really do have to 'study' the game (and YOUR game) continously if you want to be a winning player. Perfect example of nothing comes easy in life!
I try not to heckle any more although I let it slip time to time... Usually after 3 or 400 hands where I have only won a handful or two and I get a hand cracked. I never heckle when I am not running bad and see bad play, in fact I will sit there and take the side of the person being heckled and make sure he thinks the heckler is an asswipe
The longer players like that stay around the better!
And yes, there are manyyyyyy players who play just like they play Black Jack... They have it calculated into their living expenses as a hobby or entertainment and it doesn't phase them. So I don't see the game dying off, instead I see it becoming more mainstream and become 'another casino game' simialr to caribbean stud, 3 card poker, etc.. none are the biggest but they all hang in there over the years. The main problem is Casinos don't want to push the game .. they make jackshit per square foot compared to table games - But they have to add the tables nowadays due to demand and people will actually stay elsewhere that has a poker room. Hopefully the demand for live play stays up there and it will make the casinos keep larger card rooms.
Even if live card rooms starting drying up I think poker is here to stay
I do think it was an incredibly stupid move for party poker to split up into two networks
1) Party Players
2) Players from all other skins
It has hurt their game selection in some areas such as PLO and 7 card stud.. nothing detrimental, but still plain idiotic. I do however get it from a marketing standpoint - will be interesting to see how that pans out the next 6 months.
I coudl go on for hours on this subject, lol... I better stop now before I really start rambling