Can someone help me take better notes

[aargh57]

Hi all. I was just wondering if anyone could help me out in the note taking department. I don't really know how to put this but I think I don't utilize note taking enough even when I take them. For example, I often takes notes like "cdw A high to river" or "Tried a river bluff raise in large pot". I think that these are probably the kinds of things that I should be taking notes on but then I end up not using them or the players leave pretty soon after I take them. I bonus whore so I play on a lot of sites so maybe they would come in more usefull if I played on one site more often. However, usually the guys that I play a lot of hands against are the best players and I end up having the least amount of notes on them because I think "well he made the right play, why should I note that". I guess maybe this is wrong thinking but it's hard to tell what I should put down against such players and I don't want to mislabel a good player because he made one or two "bad" plays as he might just be trying to mix things up. Also, I think when I play against these players sometimes I'm too simplistic with my notes. For example, I usually just end up value betting more against the "cdw A high" guy or trying to induce bluffs from the aggressive guys. Maybe this is what I'm supposed to be doing but I gusse I think I'm just not getting as much as I should at these aspects. I normally 2 table 6max 3/6 or 2/4 if there aren't 2 3/6 tables and I have been good about not surfing while I play so I think I'm paying pretty close attention. I guess I'm rambling but am hoping someone could help me more with this.

[MrWookie47]

I think this is exactly what you should be doing w/ your notes. I also like to note what sorts of hands people donkbet with, and what hands they c/r with. Those can be some of the hardest plays to play against properly because they can mean so many things and because they can result in costly mistakes.

[car ramrod]

sounds like you are on the right track. Continue to take notes even if someone leaves the table, you may sit down w/ them again in the future.

I note everything that catches my attention. Donked into pfr w/ bottom pair. Check raised turn w/ flopped trips, bluffed river scare card, etc. I think the notes will give you a lot better read then the stats will.

People tend to follow a betting pattern, so when you see them play a hand a certain way, that means they usually play it that way everytime.

in summary, keep taking notes.

[aargh57]

Thanks guys, I guess I just needed some affirmation. I had a few days where I didn't take as many so I was starting to think that maybe I should be doing something different.

[Reqtech]

This is something that I haven't even started doing yet [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Every so often I'll make a note saying "COMPLETE LAG" but that is redundant and useless since I'm already running PAHUD.

[VoraciousReader]

I think you're on the right track. One thing, though, is that at the micros, I think it's actually more helpful to have notes on the good players. They generally have a reason for what they do, and will play more consistently. And they're not working hard to deceive you because they know that it's not usually necessary at these limits.

I try to make my notes things that will help me understand what their bets/raises/calls mean. It helps if you keep the betting sequence in mind when you see what they showdown, and I also speculate. For example, a thinking opponent raises, and reraises flop, smooth calls turn, and folds river for one bet. If there was a 2 flush on board, I may make a note like: ??may have pumped a flush draw?? Or if they show down a rivered flush but raised the flop in position, I might note ??possible free-card raise/semibluff??

"Called down on rags board" is also distinct in my notes from "Called down on coord(inated) board." If the board shows 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], my opponent might reasonably conclude that his Ace high good kicker is the best hand, or at least likely enough to be good to warrant a calldown against 1 opponent.

I especially look for people who will bluff-raise the turn. I have one opponent I really like who will routinely bluff-raise the turn and follow up with a river bluff with nothing. I [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] him. He can turn a losing session into a winning session all by himself.

If you're regularly playing at the smaller sites to bonus clear, you might also think about marking opponents that seem to have your number. I have someone like that at Absolute. He/She is really good and also seems to have a pretty good read on me. If I have a few tables to choose from (unfortunately, not always the case at Absolute), I choose the ones he's not at (unless I feel like really thinking carefully about poker and improving/varying my game.)

I'm rambling, but those are the kind of things I think about when notetakeing.

[numeri]

[ QUOTE ]
This is something that I haven't even started doing yet [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
You should know better!

I'll look for stuff like donk bets - I hate them, and I want to know what they'll do it with. I also make notes of what someone calls down with, if they'll bluff a scare card, etc. (Oh - and that's why don't fold in a big pot to the scary raise vs. an unknown.)

I kept iso-raising a guy the other day, and he LRR me with 33. Made a note of that, too. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Really didn't need it, though. Dude was soooo bad.

[Reqtech]

I definitely know better. I'm able to make mental reads during sessions**, but of course that doesn't help 2 weeks later when I run into the same player later. Sometimes I don't understand my own laziness [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

** funny story. Back when Wilma hit, my wife's sister (student at UMiami) took refuge at our house. I was playing poker for a while and she asked if she could watch. One hand I pretty much predicted every move that a villain I had been watching was going to make. I was correct on the whole hand (on the river I said, "ok, this guy ALWAYS bets the river when checked to him as a bluff. Watch as I induce his bluff and raise him to get 2 big bets from him"), and she was in awe. It was like that scene in Rounders when Matt called off what everyone held [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

But yeah, I suck about actually taking the notes. I'm currently trying to figure out what notes I could generate automatically from the PT database...that's more exciting to me than actually taking the notes myself [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[car ramrod]

depending on what site you play at and what level, you will likely run into the same players.

Start taking notes.

[Reqtech]

You're 100% right. This is a laziness issue that I need to overcome.