After a point I think what separates high from mid elo is more about the small decisions you make and knowing when to do what or whether you should just back out if the situation is unfavorable.

Low elo is a point where you probably still need to work on your mechanics on top of decision-making.

Knowing how to build or counterbuild is also an extremely important skill that I think a lot of people don't understand.

Elo hell exists but only from a player's perspective. It does not exist statistically. A player that does not belong in an Elo range will always move out of it after a large number of games unless there is a crutch keeping them there (Kassadin in Dom, Darius in TT, premade carrying in 5's, duo w/ smurf in solo, etc.). In Elo hell, from the player's perspective, the losses are infuriating while the wins are unsatisfying. But statistically, if that player doesn't belong in the range then he will be a constant strength in his games, making his team randomly have up to 4 leavers/feeders while the enemy team can have up to 5 leavers/feeders.

The difference between a high Elo player and a low Elo player is not skill, otherwise Nekrogen would be negative Elo (hueheuhue like he's going to see this post). The difference between the two is the willingness to look at mistakes that you made and learn from them. These mistakes can be in both micro/builds and in teamwork/strategy -- for example you're a ranged ADC running up to a post-windmill 3v4 fight that your teammates started and are losing, and you could either jump in and finish off two very low people before dying and leaving one enemy survivor to cap the point, or you could abandon your teammates and defend the windmill against 1 healthy enemy and 2 heavily wounded ones that will likely recall. Your teammates might not understand the latter is better, but your teammates were out of position to begin with.

The difference between a high Elo player and a mid Elo player is mostly counterbuilding and counterjungling, or rather roaming with accurate expectation of enemy movement in the jungle. It is impossible to know where the enemy is perfectly, especially if he's been missing since he died. Very often I will not push bot lane because I simply don't know where the enemy assassin is -- and then I see them top and that I should have been pushing the last 15 seconds. Were they headed bot and then figured I was backing and changed directions? Or were they headed top from the start? Dunno! There is still quite a bit of good guesswork going on, especially when you know they actually are in the jungle and you're also hanging around in the fog.

If you can get replays of games you were in and then watch them with only the enemy's vision turned on, it helps a lot.

Haha, wow, didn't expect Sauron to reply

Oh, I use the term "elo hell." But I really do mean "low elo." I have several friends who play nothing but Ranked SR and they constantly like to remind everyone that they're in "elo hell." I've seen them play. Yes, they are very good in terms of skill, but they cannot understand that this is a team game. So, I've learn that if you are a very skilled player and you are stuck at low elo, your mentality is the reason why you're in "elo hell." I don't think I'm in Dominion elo hell.

A lot of the advice I've been getting seems like something you only get from playing a lot of games. So, I guess I HAVE TO play more Dominion. Oh darn, I HAVE TO play a game mode that I enjoy spending my free time on. What a shame.

@Sauron
I actually just downloaded LolReplay on my laptop. I lost pretty badly in my last game. I just watched that replay and I have to say that I want to facepalm myself how obvious my problems are but I missed them during the game.

I mean, very obvious. Like, as AD Wukong, I bought Hextech Sweeper instead of Grez's Spectral Lantern to counter Teemo's shrooms.

I think if I make a habit of periodically watching replays of my games and I remember everything everyone here told me and look at areas where I can improve. I think I will be just fine. My goal is to be matched with some of you guys in 2013 via matchmaker. So, if I'm ever in a game with you guys, please congratulate me.

Get ready for some srs business then (or srs trolling)! You can do it. For me it was about identifying which class I was best at and riding that all the way home.

Later you can branch off and learn the other roles too.

"Why 2 bot"

Well Sauron is definitely right (hell I haven't been playing much lately, so he's right about that too :P). When you play against other very good players you need to learn how to adapt to their strategies, or change your own so that they can't take advantage of you.I won't claim to be the best player in the game, but I've definitely changed a lot since I began playing Dominion, and it's mostly because of the other players that populate this game mode.

Mindset

If you're mechanically good and make the right decisions only thing that makes the difference between losing and winning is the 10 inches between your ears.