Buddy List

[pyroponic]

Does using a buddy list lead to effective game selection? How does it work for you? And what exactly are you looking for (in terms of VPIP/PFR/AF).

[bds]

I use a buddy list and think it does help with game selection. I datamine and keep track of all players who see 50% or more of the flops and on whom I have at least 100 hands. The list gets long very quickly. I seek tables with these players, look at the overall playerview data on those tables and then chose on that basis. So, having a buddy list gives me a place to start in identifying tables that might be good choices. I don't limit on the basis of PFR and AF only because it is not easy to do in poker tracker.

[pyroponic]

So will you check out the other players at the table of your buddy or will you sit down if just the buddy is there and decide after a few orbits whether it is worth it to continue playing?

[bds]

Well, with datamining, I usually have stats on a lot of the players, so I check the table out before sitting down. Those I don't have stats on have likely just changed their names or are average at best (at least so I assume until shown otherwise)

[sy_or_bust]

Using Buddy List for game selection, IMO, is too time consuming and probably overrated. I'll keep tabs on a few moneyhating maniacs, but observing a few hands and pulling up numbers has been far more efficient for me.

[joker122]

if you're really diligent about it i think it's worth it. what i mean by "diligent" is adding any player who plays significantly worse than you, not just the maniacs. it's not really that time consuming to add a player or search the tables - maybe all of like 30 seconds to do both?

[blackize]

I find that at 1/2 at least I can find a suitable table very very easily. I look for a pot size of around 11 dollars with 5 players. I then sit down and watch a couple hands. I base my decision on whether or not to play at that table on cold calls preflop and post flop aggression. It is generally very easy to distinguish the good tables from the bad using this system.

There might be a better way to do it using PT but I am really lazy and this works very well for me.

[pyroponic]

Well I figure combining data mining with the ability to filter out extremely poor players (e.g. VPIP > 60), I could compile a comprehensive Buddy List which I could update biweekly or every month. I'm going to give it a try and see if it helps in my game selection process.