Systematically increasing my ability to play poker

I finally won at poker last night (well, I didn't win, but I got third place which takes a percentage of the pot, so I didn't loose). It's been a long hard road for me, knowing only the rules, but nothing about strategy. I became the laughing stock of the poker table, especially after going out in two hands last week. This week however things started to click. I suspect that if I continue to systematically improve at this same rate, I will be a formidable contender for the world championships of poker.

The guy in the photo below is not me, he's the classmate who introduced me to the poker club here... in sense, he's the pusher. He looks a little evil and pusherly doesn't he?

You can see the stats here. (As of the time of writing this post, it looks like it has not been updated yet with last night's info.)