taking notes on palyers

[andrews211]

When I am taking notes on opponents I usally start by noting down each hand that the opponets show either at the end of their showdowns or when they willingly show so that I get an idea of the kinds of cards they are playing. I also make notes when I see them bluff or chase to the river with bottom pair or with ace high or if they like to chase straight and flush draws. is this a good way of doing it?

[TerryBorer]

Yes, that sounds fine - it is very important as you say to know what cards your opponents are willing to play. Noting how they play certain situations is good too. The most important criterion is whether you find value in your notes which I can't answer from your question.

My personal style is to only note unusual plays which cuts down on the number of notes (I play multiple games and would get overrun otherwise). Examples are bluff-raises on the river, pure bluff turn raises and loose 3-bets pre-flop.

I also pay closer attention to hands against me; my opponents play differently against me than some others. This works well for me since I play multiple games and generally don't see hands I'm not involved in.

Because I use automatic statistic gathering (which helps with specific plays), my notes also tend to revolve around whether I want this guy at my table or not.

Good luck andrews and please let us know at the end of the month how you did in your 2/4 games.

-- Terry

[taz115]

When I first started playing I tried to take notes on every hand I saw shown down, but it is too labor intensive and it is not helpful to have those kinds of notes. Take notes on unusual plays and plays that might help you define that players range based on an action. Examples could be:

-Raises Ax from any position
-Reraises light on the button (QJs, KJo)
-Limped AQo first in in the cut off
-Peels any flop for one bet
-Donk bets low pairs on the flop out of the blinds
-check raised a draw on the turn after calling the flop
-will bet the river when checked to with a busted draw
-will call with A high on the river if the turn was checked

Notes like these help me better define a players range if certain actions occur during a hand or what line I might want to take based on how he has played specific streets in the past. If I take note that someone 3-bet me with AKo on the button that is not very useful because I’d expect 95% of my opponents to make that play.