Taking Notes

[wizard]

I have just had time to properly read through this months Poker Player magazine, and have been reading the article on taking notes. I personally dont take notes at the moment, but can see an advantage in doing so, however I have a few questions. How long should I observe a players play before deciding on their style? How lenghty should notes be? Should notes be the be all and end all of my decisions. e.g .... I have picked up that a player often plays rag aces. I am short stacked in an MTT holding 8-8. He puts me all in. - based on the information I should probably call, but bad players get dealt good hands just as often as good players do. Maybe he has AA or KK or QQ etc. How beneficial do you find note taking? Do you have any example notes to share?

[Valiant23]

Re: Taking Notes I have to say that although I haven't read the article yet, I'm coming round to the idea that they are bad (another flaming on its way :lol)!

I have picked up that a player often plays rag aces. I am short stacked in an MTT holding 8-8. He puts me all in. - based on the information I should probably call, but bad players get dealt good hands just as often as good players do. Maybe he has AA or KK or QQ etc.

Thats one of my reasons. How about;

• Players improving? You play against BillyTheFish who has been playing for a month (not that you know this), playing poorly and you make notes on his play. The next time you see him you get ready to catch a nice fishy, to discover he's playing you off the table, and on his way to the WSoP as the next bright young thing.

• Your own mental development. Most people want to take their online poker into BnM casino's/cardroom's. Do you think you can sit down with a pad and pen and make a note on Gripper sat next to you (you know him with "LOV" and "HAT" tattooed on his remaining fingers)? Do you think he'll apreciate catching a glance at your pad to see 'Gripper=

Whilst I appreciate and understand the uses of poker software such as Poker-Office and Poker Tracker, I think if you see something worthy of noting then you will be better served to remember this yourself. If you have forgotten the next time you see them at the table, then it couldn't have been that remarkable a point. Of course I suppose tagging fishes is worthwhile when you fancy some easy money.;)

[rippyuk]

Re: Taking Notes For the reasons Mr V mentions above, I've been reluctant to make notes. What may be true of a player some time, may not be true the next time we meet. You (and they) also need to be playing the same site regularly to ensure your paths cross again.. however.. Information like.. - Which hands player X will raise/limp with from early position.. or indeed is player even aware of positional advantage? - Is player likely to respect a raise/re-raise/check raise, or are they a complete calling station? - In tourneys, is player generally a tight, steady plodder, or an agressive chip hoover? ..could be useful. I haven't made notes on any player in the past, but I'm also aware there are times notes from previous sessions would've stopped me making the wrong call, bluffing at the wrong pot, or folding when I was potentially on top. Like you I'm aware I probably could & should make notes, but I'm not totally confident of what I should be noting, how detailed this should be, and how reliant I should be on the notes during play.

[slapdash]

Re: Taking Notes

I have picked up that a player often plays rag aces. I am short stacked in an MTT holding 8-8. He puts me all in. - based on the information I should probably call, but bad players get dealt good hands just as often as good players do. Maybe he has AA or KK or QQ etc.

But at least having the notes would give you a better idea of how likely he is to have a high pair, which is what you need to know. I don't take notes (too lazy), but I'm sure it would be good for my game if I did. One of the worst things about my poker (amongst all the other worst things) is that I don't tend to notice much about how other players at my table are playing unless I really force myself to pay attention. I suspect that if I did take notes, it would help just because it would make me pay more attention, even if I never looked at the notes again. Incidentally, in live poker I do notice much more about how people are playing, partly because I don't read my email or catch up on PL when I'm not involved in a pot, but also I think because when somebody is physically there in front of you it's harder not to notice what they're doing.

[Tax_Monkey]

Re: Taking Notes I have made one or two notes on players but can't say that it's helped much because I prefer to base my decisions on what a player has been doing during that particular tourney. One site I do think notes might be useful for (at the moment anyway) is Mansion because your constantly running into the same people. Like others have said I do worry that any notes I make might be misleading the next time I meet that player, I also wonder if player notes would be more important in cash games or tourneys?

[Valiant23]

Re: Taking Notes On a slightly different issue, have you ever tried to take notes on your own play? I've played a tourney and noted every hand I have played in, with a brief summary of how I played, what's happened etc. I don't think they are so clear that I could show them on a thread, but it has helped me to look back even whilst still playing in the tourney to see where I have made good or bad moves. A fictional example is;

Chips 1365 BB 100 Q 10os call min. raise flop A,4,7 rainbow. Raiser bets I fold. Chips 1165

Just helps me think about my game from time to time. :ok

[robilaruk]

Re: Taking Notes keeping notes is valuable - especially if you are playing cash tables regularly They are a tool that works in your favour if you use them correctly, so keep them up to date and use them quickly - so if you find a fish, make a note and seek him out over the next few days to take advantage before his BR dries up or he figures out that shoving K8 suited against your raise is not a good idea..... Damo

[Hedonist]

Re: Taking Notes The notes I make are not very useful, I will write something like x has a dog named cleo and y supports Everton. Has not helped me win much :lol