I have a trick I use to inconspicuously, or at least less conspicuously, take notes at the poker table.

I have two Twitter accounts, one my main account and one a sort of gimmick. (If you care, the main one is @abostick59 and the gimmick is @FakeAlanBostick; but that's not pertinent to the point I'm making.)

Taking notes at the table could be rather obvious; but in the games I play so people are texting continually; so texting at least occasionally doesn't set me apart as unusual. So I use my phone to text a direct message to my gimmick account with a hand history. E.g.:

or

Do you keep notes on play at your table? How do you do it in a way that minimizes attention or tapping on the tank?

Do you check your twitter when you have a big pot & big decision to make with all eyes on you?

Personally I just label each player in my head

Of course not. Don't be ignorant.

Unfortunately, this doesn't help the slightest bit with remembering details of a hand about which I have questions I want to ask in a strat post.

I can't speak or Op, but some of us (ahem), because of prolonged use/abuse of the 420, have difficulties with recall and memory. For instance, I could sit next to you for a few hours chatting, then I don't see you for a few months. When I meet you again I'll remember just about all of that conversation... except the part that goes "my name is ___". Horrible with names. Guess I cooked the cells in that part of my brain lol.

Tricks like Op describe, where you have the physical element of typing info, re-inforce recall. It's a known fact.

I create entries for different places I frequent (bars, restaurants) in my contact list on my phone and in the notes field list peeps I meet frequently along with a few helpful hints. Never done this strictly for poker though, but it's not a bad idea.

I have a notes section on my blackberry that I use

I used to have specific notes in abinder thatd Id use while I play.

Maybe I should start doing this again just to piss everyone off

I type into the notes section on my phone. This gets the same effect without having to use the twitter thing. Usually I'll wait and do it at the dealer change each half hour. But the fact is that in our casino, everyone has phones out typing/texting/checking email all the time, and no one seems to notice or care at all.

yeah i use the notepad feature in my phone. just looks like i'm texting. i try to just get a quick shorthand version down after the hand to jog my memory later after the session.

I just send emails to myself.

For one, I always record my starting time, ending time, and the amount of time I'm sitting out any hands, so I can get accurate data for my log.

I also use a stack of chips to record my tokes and pots won. As soon as I sit down I buy a predetermined number of $1 chips, and toke exactly one for every pot, no matter how big or small. That way I always know exactly how many pots I've won, and how much I've toked.

At the end of the session I immediately email all my data to myself for logging later.

The hand recording is a great idea too, will start doing that as well.

It's possible, even likely, that it has little to do with the '420' and might just be that you have a **** memory when it comes to remembering names....

Just type into the notes section of your phone. Who's nosy enough to look at your screen to see what you're typing anyways? Why are you using your phone in such a way that other players can see what you're doing?

You cant use phones at The Star in sydney... What then?

You aren't likely to be aloud to use pen and paper either.

Walk away if it's that compelling/important to jot down? Maybe snap a picture of the villain if you can be inconspicuous about it?

The Notes app has a distinctive yellow color; it's obvious to anyone who sees that I'm doing something unusual. Texting isn't unusual.

invest in a privacy screen protector