Hi all,

I want to up my game so lately I've been trying to take notes live. I have donktracker but you aren't allowed to use phones where I play.

I'm just wondering what kind of notes I should be taking? I'm trying to write down marginal hands that people enter pots with, anything else I should be tracking?

My goal is to train myself by focusing on and noticing these things by writing them down, to eventually be able to record these things mentally like many live players do.

If I was better at noticing things and remembering them, I wouldn't need a notebook in the first place, but I'm hoping that through practice this will improve my mental acuity in regards to remembering details about my opponents without the use of a notepad.

Thanks!

KT

Take your notes in the bathroom, or on the rail.

I understand you think writing stuff down will help make you sharper. It probably won't, and you will just worry about too much at the table, and in turn will miss picking up on other stuff, while you are trying to transcribe that some random guy called a 3bet with A6o.

Taking notes at the table will just make you play worse. Don't worry about paying attention to specific crap. Classify opponents in broad categories to start and classify their play styles in similar categories, and just play sort of a blanket approach vs. that archetype of opponent.

If you start seeing the same faces over and over, you can over time with specific players (Regulars) get more complex reads.

Don't take notes at all. Don't be that guy. There is such a high turnover rate of players at small stakes live games, taking notes on most players would be futile.

You SHOULD be able to mentally remember history and dynamics vs. your regular opposition and over time develop an understanding of how they play.

You can get an app or write down your results and expenses. But, other then that, any other type of note taking is pointless.

It SHOULDN'T be difficult to recollect hands you played after a session, if you want to post them on the forums.

As far as keeping a dossier on your opponents, get out of town. Just play.

+1 to Goldman

Props for your effort but don't let remembering get in the way of absorbing. I generally just peg people as TAGs and LAGs and idiots and competents. Just keep paying attention and you'll do fine. After all just trying to watch how people play puts you in the top of the player pool.

Note taking is an excellent idea. As stated above, you want to do it away from the table in the bathroom or so other location.

I'd start off by pigeon holing people, then as they do something that doesn't fit that pigeon hole, note it. For example, if a player is fit or fold on the flop, I'd only make a note of a hand where the didn't do that and what the circumstances are.

I'm with venice on this one. I take notes on my iPhone app PokerJournal, and I find the most useful notes seem to be ones that are large disparities from the norm. Don't clog your notes up with long HHs and context-dependent plays, take notes on things like "checked AA from BB" or "bets the size of the pot with a NFD" or "open shoves QQ+ from EP", things like that