PygmyHero
11-22-2005, 12:33 PM
As I move up in 2+2 poster designations, I thought I would insult you…No, I’m just kidding. Your notes probably don’t suck. There have been a few threads on note taking lately, and I wanted to add my thoughts. In reality, my subject is deceptive, since this maybe is more properaly considered session review, but it does have some correlations to note taking. I think this thread may be more useful for rank beginners, but I’m happy if anyone benefits from it.
I’m sure that many people diligently put notes on players at the table, which is great. Obviously, if you don’t, start. But, I suspect that many people who do take notes still consistently ignore note taking on the most important player, the one who’s actions are the most important, and have the most impact on your bottom line. I’m speaking, of course, about yourself.
In the days before I had PT, I used an Excel spreadsheet to track where I played, what limit, for how long, whether I won or lost, and I used the Comments function to write myself a (sometimes rather long) note about the day’s session. Now when I got through my PT session, I take notes at the same time. I would recommend you do the same.
What should go into those notes? First of all, realize that you are not going to use that space to whine about bad beats. That’s what your girlfriend is for. You should pretty much record the same things you would write down about an opponent. Look for weaknesses and leaks in your own game. Find your betting patterns – which ones are successful, which aren’t? In what situations do you typically employ what lines? Look at hands you played well – remind yourself that you’re a good player.
I think one of the keys to doing this well is actually physically writing things down (or typing them out). This may be better for your particular learning style, or it may just serve as reinforcement. Either way, it should help you become a better player. I don’t think many of us are advanced enough to look over a PT session, just think about our play, and just figure it all out in our heads.
Just like other aspects of your poker game, take this seriously, and strive to do it better. I’ve taken notes since the beginning of this year (when I started playing), and I feel there has been a marked increase in the quality of my notes.
I thought I’d share a kind of ‘Best of My Notes,’ to emphasize what I think is important, things I’ve learned about myself as a poker player, and maybe to impart some poker advice.
Early on, my notes were very simplistic, but you have to start somewhere.
• Patience and discipline are of the utmost importance. You must play good hands PF.
• You must have a stronger hand to overcall – this applies PF as well.
• The less your tables can overlap, the better. I was able to increase my win rate by increasing the number of pixels on my monitor. Now I have a Dell 2001fp. It makes a huge difference.
• Try to focus on one game and avoid getting confused about different limits. When I started out, adjusting from Party $0.50-$1 to Crypto 1/2 (before they introduced smaller limits) was very difficult. Even just reading or watching (much less playing) NL on TV sometimes threw my game off a little. I don’t think I’m susceptible to this anymore, but I think it’s relevant when you’re a new player.
• Trouble hands: calling with these hands PF hadn’t seemed like a big error, and maybe it’s not. But what is certainly an error is to continue to call with them – it is not the PF call that costs you, it is calling down when you’re dominated.
• Don’t bet without thinking just because you have a strong hand, or think you have the best hand. You should bet when you think you will get called with a worse hand (which, admittedly, at LL, is a lot of the time). I think this concept sounds easy, but it’s really not. I know I’m still working on this one. One common situation I run into sees my opponent folding to my turn raise when an alternative line that sometimes extracts an extra bet is to just call the turn and snap off a river bluff. Similarly, I find that sometimes they will fold to a turn bet, but will check call the river with no chance to win, sometimes literally just to see your cards (they’re curious enough to pay 1 BB, but not 2). Your read is going to be really important here since you need to know what your opponent will do and if you’re strong enough to be able to give a free card (many times you’re not).
• Strive to play well every session and do not go on tilt. Another easy sounding one that’s really not. While I can just as easily win big as lose big, based solely on my play, when you add in tilt, it’s no contest. I can lose much more quickly than I can win. I’ve never discovered any reverse-tilt that boosts my win rate.
• Distractions: for a long time, I struggled to find the proper amount. I noticed that doing email was too much of a distraction for me to play well, but reading 2+2 was not. In fact, it was nice to sometimes be doing something else as it prevented me from getting bored and playing too many hands.
• Adjustments: are you at a good table and do you leave when it tightens up? Are you playing players differently, based on their style? How long should you play for? How long a break do you need? How are you reacting after a bad beat? There are some days where I note that my best plays came after a bad beat because I did NOT go on tilt, I did NOT make bad calls, etc. In contrast, how do you react to winning? Do you start playing cavalierly, thinking you can run over the table without cards?
After playing for a while, I felt the quality of my notes (in terms of how useful they were to me) rose, and my play improved.
• Thinking about moving up? You may want to do it even if you’re not sure you’re ready. Even if you’re only a marginal winner (or a slight loser) at the new limit, the faster bonus clearance may make up for this. And, of course, you may be ready.
• Table consistency is important to me – I usually seem to do better at a 30% VPIP, 5-6 BB average pot table that I’m familiar with, then a 35-40% VPIP, 7-8 BB average pot table that I’m new to. I think this is because I have developed reads on the players at my table and crafted a table image that I can utilize.
• Another application of discipline: I had good discipline PF, but too often I found myself making a good read, only to still call on the end. No, different not. Only different in your mind.
• Setting up plays: one of my favorites is showing down middle pair against a weak opponent (where it might be good), and then having a strong player play back at me later, thinking I again have a weak hand. Of course, this time I have a better hand since I'm up against a reasonable player.
• Finding more folds: I used to have a lot of trouble folding unless I was raised. This was especially problematic with UI overs. I would go too far with these hands – don’t automatically turn big aces into a bluffing hand because it doesn’t have much other value. You should bluff when the time is right, just because you missed the board doesn't automatically mean you are in a bluffing situation.
• Straight draws: players often peel the flop with gut shots, especially to the nuts. I need to recognize this and not pay them off. I also need to do a better job recognizing double gut busters.
• Flopping two pair: I’m still working on playing this correctly, especially from the blinds. With 2 pair you have largely crippled the deck and I sometimes find it hard to get calls.
• Turn play: bet with no (or few) outs, check if you have a good draw. Example: you have AKs and are HU in position. The flop is rags but you have a backdoor flush draw. You bet and are called. On the turn you bet any brick, folding to a raise and checking behind on the river UI. However, if you pick up the nut flush draw, check – you would now hate to be cr-ed as you’d have to call. This is a concept I first read in Sklansky’s Tournament Poker FAP, but I think it’s applicable in limit as well.
• Small stacks getting all-in: most people will be very eager to get their last few bets in when they are short. Use this to your advantage to manipulate the betting. If they’re behind you, you can bet into them if you want them to raise and isolate you. If you want to check raise the whole field, check, knowing they will probably bet. If you are in position, smooth call if you have a monster – even if everyone folds, you can still get the small stack all-in before the hand ends. Lastly, be aware the implied odds cease to exist.
• 2nd and 3rd level thinking: how do you appear to the rest of the table? Realize that if you’ve won a few hands without a showdown lately, it’s going to look like you’ve been stealing. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had it every time. Adjust your play accordingly.
• Take your hand off the mouse!: take the time to think about the hand, make a read, and decide on your best action. What will you do if they ______?
That's all I have for now. I know it's not as grandiose or informative as many carpal tunnel posts I've seen, but that's where I'm at right now.
I also wanted to say thanks to everyone on the 2+2 boards - learning how to play poker has been an enjoyable experience and I appreciate all the help I've received here.
I’m sure that many people diligently put notes on players at the table, which is great. Obviously, if you don’t, start. But, I suspect that many people who do take notes still consistently ignore note taking on the most important player, the one who’s actions are the most important, and have the most impact on your bottom line. I’m speaking, of course, about yourself.
In the days before I had PT, I used an Excel spreadsheet to track where I played, what limit, for how long, whether I won or lost, and I used the Comments function to write myself a (sometimes rather long) note about the day’s session. Now when I got through my PT session, I take notes at the same time. I would recommend you do the same.
What should go into those notes? First of all, realize that you are not going to use that space to whine about bad beats. That’s what your girlfriend is for. You should pretty much record the same things you would write down about an opponent. Look for weaknesses and leaks in your own game. Find your betting patterns – which ones are successful, which aren’t? In what situations do you typically employ what lines? Look at hands you played well – remind yourself that you’re a good player.
I think one of the keys to doing this well is actually physically writing things down (or typing them out). This may be better for your particular learning style, or it may just serve as reinforcement. Either way, it should help you become a better player. I don’t think many of us are advanced enough to look over a PT session, just think about our play, and just figure it all out in our heads.
Just like other aspects of your poker game, take this seriously, and strive to do it better. I’ve taken notes since the beginning of this year (when I started playing), and I feel there has been a marked increase in the quality of my notes.
I thought I’d share a kind of ‘Best of My Notes,’ to emphasize what I think is important, things I’ve learned about myself as a poker player, and maybe to impart some poker advice.
Early on, my notes were very simplistic, but you have to start somewhere.
• Patience and discipline are of the utmost importance. You must play good hands PF.
• You must have a stronger hand to overcall – this applies PF as well.
• The less your tables can overlap, the better. I was able to increase my win rate by increasing the number of pixels on my monitor. Now I have a Dell 2001fp. It makes a huge difference.
• Try to focus on one game and avoid getting confused about different limits. When I started out, adjusting from Party $0.50-$1 to Crypto 1/2 (before they introduced smaller limits) was very difficult. Even just reading or watching (much less playing) NL on TV sometimes threw my game off a little. I don’t think I’m susceptible to this anymore, but I think it’s relevant when you’re a new player.
• Trouble hands: calling with these hands PF hadn’t seemed like a big error, and maybe it’s not. But what is certainly an error is to continue to call with them – it is not the PF call that costs you, it is calling down when you’re dominated.
• Don’t bet without thinking just because you have a strong hand, or think you have the best hand. You should bet when you think you will get called with a worse hand (which, admittedly, at LL, is a lot of the time). I think this concept sounds easy, but it’s really not. I know I’m still working on this one. One common situation I run into sees my opponent folding to my turn raise when an alternative line that sometimes extracts an extra bet is to just call the turn and snap off a river bluff. Similarly, I find that sometimes they will fold to a turn bet, but will check call the river with no chance to win, sometimes literally just to see your cards (they’re curious enough to pay 1 BB, but not 2). Your read is going to be really important here since you need to know what your opponent will do and if you’re strong enough to be able to give a free card (many times you’re not).
• Strive to play well every session and do not go on tilt. Another easy sounding one that’s really not. While I can just as easily win big as lose big, based solely on my play, when you add in tilt, it’s no contest. I can lose much more quickly than I can win. I’ve never discovered any reverse-tilt that boosts my win rate.
• Distractions: for a long time, I struggled to find the proper amount. I noticed that doing email was too much of a distraction for me to play well, but reading 2+2 was not. In fact, it was nice to sometimes be doing something else as it prevented me from getting bored and playing too many hands.
• Adjustments: are you at a good table and do you leave when it tightens up? Are you playing players differently, based on their style? How long should you play for? How long a break do you need? How are you reacting after a bad beat? There are some days where I note that my best plays came after a bad beat because I did NOT go on tilt, I did NOT make bad calls, etc. In contrast, how do you react to winning? Do you start playing cavalierly, thinking you can run over the table without cards?
After playing for a while, I felt the quality of my notes (in terms of how useful they were to me) rose, and my play improved.
• Thinking about moving up? You may want to do it even if you’re not sure you’re ready. Even if you’re only a marginal winner (or a slight loser) at the new limit, the faster bonus clearance may make up for this. And, of course, you may be ready.
• Table consistency is important to me – I usually seem to do better at a 30% VPIP, 5-6 BB average pot table that I’m familiar with, then a 35-40% VPIP, 7-8 BB average pot table that I’m new to. I think this is because I have developed reads on the players at my table and crafted a table image that I can utilize.
• Another application of discipline: I had good discipline PF, but too often I found myself making a good read, only to still call on the end. No, different not. Only different in your mind.
• Setting up plays: one of my favorites is showing down middle pair against a weak opponent (where it might be good), and then having a strong player play back at me later, thinking I again have a weak hand. Of course, this time I have a better hand since I'm up against a reasonable player.
• Finding more folds: I used to have a lot of trouble folding unless I was raised. This was especially problematic with UI overs. I would go too far with these hands – don’t automatically turn big aces into a bluffing hand because it doesn’t have much other value. You should bluff when the time is right, just because you missed the board doesn't automatically mean you are in a bluffing situation.
• Straight draws: players often peel the flop with gut shots, especially to the nuts. I need to recognize this and not pay them off. I also need to do a better job recognizing double gut busters.
• Flopping two pair: I’m still working on playing this correctly, especially from the blinds. With 2 pair you have largely crippled the deck and I sometimes find it hard to get calls.
• Turn play: bet with no (or few) outs, check if you have a good draw. Example: you have AKs and are HU in position. The flop is rags but you have a backdoor flush draw. You bet and are called. On the turn you bet any brick, folding to a raise and checking behind on the river UI. However, if you pick up the nut flush draw, check – you would now hate to be cr-ed as you’d have to call. This is a concept I first read in Sklansky’s Tournament Poker FAP, but I think it’s applicable in limit as well.
• Small stacks getting all-in: most people will be very eager to get their last few bets in when they are short. Use this to your advantage to manipulate the betting. If they’re behind you, you can bet into them if you want them to raise and isolate you. If you want to check raise the whole field, check, knowing they will probably bet. If you are in position, smooth call if you have a monster – even if everyone folds, you can still get the small stack all-in before the hand ends. Lastly, be aware the implied odds cease to exist.
• 2nd and 3rd level thinking: how do you appear to the rest of the table? Realize that if you’ve won a few hands without a showdown lately, it’s going to look like you’ve been stealing. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had it every time. Adjust your play accordingly.
• Take your hand off the mouse!: take the time to think about the hand, make a read, and decide on your best action. What will you do if they ______?
That's all I have for now. I know it's not as grandiose or informative as many carpal tunnel posts I've seen, but that's where I'm at right now.
I also wanted to say thanks to everyone on the 2+2 boards - learning how to play poker has been an enjoyable experience and I appreciate all the help I've received here.