I am curious if any of you use any note taking apps like "Poker Notes Live" or something similar when playing live poker.
I take lots of notes on my opponents when playing on line, so I can see how useful something like this might be, but it also seems like it could be a little bit awkward or uncomfortable when taking notes in a live game. For example: Do you take a picture of the guy, so you can give him an icon to put with the notes? That could be a little bit weird.
What have some of you experienced with this? Do you take a picture of the person? Do you find note taking apps for live poker to be useful?

Thanks

Taking notes at the table in general, and especially taking notes about specific players, is a really douchey thing to do.

Taking pictures of players at the table (if you get caught) will get you kicked out of any casino that I've ever palyed in.

If you're going to do it at the table, make sure you have your sunglasses, baseball cap, hoodie, headphones and backpack to go along with your notes, otherwise people might not think you're a giant ****ing douche.

Study, have a good memory, and take notes off the table if you need to... jesus.

Do not take pictures of people at the table. Do not spend your time at the table hunched over your screen furiously typing notes into your phone.

Not only do those activities make you a total clown who is horrible for the atmosphere of the game, but I can assure you it is a waste of time if your goal is to be a good poker player.

Yeah. I thought the whole thing sounded a little weird. I've never done and have never seen anyone do it. I heard someone say something about it once, but I just couldn't understand how someone could actually do that at a table.
I could see how someone could write down a little note about someone that they really want to remember...but only away from the table after they leave. I looked up some apps on that, and some had spots to put pics as icons, but that just seems so weird and uncomfortable. I just don't see how anyone could realistically do that.
Has anyone ever actually seen someone at the table doing this?

I've seen people taking notes at the table with a pad and pencil. No one paid it any mind. I actually liked it because I could go back & review all the hands the dude next to me was in because he shared the notes with me. One time a high stakes player who has a coaching website and lots of videos online came and sat with us LLSNL recs. He was taking notes on almost every hand on his phone... assuming he was doing research for stakes he coaches but doesn't play at. He had an app that already had the card icons built in.

So yeah, note taking happens. I personally use the notepad that came with my android... though I usually punch stuff in off the table during my hourly breaks.

If you have a smartphone every one has a note app built in. You don't need a special poker note app. Notes are notes.

You're right. People will probably just ignore you; I just think it looks bad and is generally bad for the game.

I use PokerJournal (which I believe is no longer being supported) for my poker stats tracking, and it has a built-in feature where you can enter in player data and keep notes on them. Also has 3 sliders (tight vs loose, passive vs aggro, and a third I use for don't-want-at-my-table vs want-at-my-table) that I can adjust accordingly as reads clarify. I do this constantly at the table, which helps me refine reads, and certainly helps refresh my memory when I sit down / a player sits down at the table.

Everyone else at the table is constantly on their phone just as I am and is none the wiser.

Certainly wouldn't recommend taking photos. Until I find out their name, I typically try to name them by their appearance. Do they sorta look like someone famous? Or a friend / relative? Or have a very distinctive attribute?

GcluelessnotetakingnoobG

Interesting...and nobody says anything? Does anyone ever ask you what you're doing?

Everyone else is on their phone all the time. Texting, watching crap, playing games, whatever. I'm just texting my wife or stepkids or friends or checking on the score or whatever. No one has ever said or (to my knowledge) suspected anything. ETA: Question: In all your hours at the table, have you ever heard one other person ask another person what they are doing on their phone? I haven't. It's kinda a rude question.

Obviously be as discreet as you can if you feel uncomfortable. I get up from the table all the time when not in a hand to stretch my legs, get a cup of water, check out the game, etc. You can easily use this time to also enter in notes on the last significant hand you saw (although I do most of my note taking right at the table).

GcluelessnotetakingnoobG

I would just say don't do it at the table..... Take a break and make a couple of notes.....it's not like it takes long,but when your at the table Imo,yiu should be involved in whats happening at the table, yiu will be amazed how much info you will get if you just chat, be sociable and pay attention.....players will show you there cards, tell you what the woukd do,explain how they are ranging players, tell you exactly how there friends play, I've even had a player show his cards to his mate while I'm still in the hand, and his friend has told me what he had....... If your buried in your phone you will miss a wealth of information and also all the stuff that makes poker 'fun'

Yeah, I mean it's not as if I have my head buried in the phone all the time either. It's more or less just for hands / notes on players I'm not as familiar with that come up with from time to time, or an interesting HH by a reg that might tweak things. You'll burn out pretty fast too if you don't allow yourself some veg / social / quiet time as well.

GcluelessnotetakingnoobG

I mean I would extend to players that just sit and watch videos with head phones on, it uses to annoy me, now I just laugh at how much info they are passing up....also if they pause the video, they have a big hand......

I mean I'm by no means the life and soke of the party, cracking jokes or whatever, I'm relativley quiet, but will absolutely make the effort to chat to anyone who wants to.

Surprised it took someone so long to say everyone is on their phones all the time. Someone writing notes on their phone wouldn't even move the meter.

I do need to talk more at the table. I am a little too quiet. I do get better though as I start go see some of these players more often.

I was sitting next to a 65 year old grandpa last night that was texting his daughter while watching espn on his phone. Its 2017.

OP, as long as you're not horrible about it no one will notice. Fwiw i regularly take notes and most would probably consider me the most social at the table.

That said, you likely wont get much out of straight note taking at the table. At the beginning of my game it helped me with vpip leaks and sizing leaks.

Now i do it to understand what very good players are doing, because it helps to have a collective of lines and look for commonalities. For example, ive noticed a very good hs player in our room often 1.5x pot otr when the front door flush completes. Yes this is something that i had noticed high level but logging like 100 hands where he does it helps me understand.

Obviously dont take pictures of people except for "people of walmart" which is the exception.

If you're at a friendly table people will have fun trying to draw you out of your shell anyway. If you aren't that guy who can loosen up an uptight group of players you never will be. I'm not that guy either.

People who take notes at the table like this are the worst

Why?

GcluelessreasonsnoobG

Are you serious? Will you at least ask them to smile first or to please look into the camera?

Taking pictures in the casino is not allowed. If you're memory isn't good enough to remember who's a LAG, who's a NIT, who's an OMC, etc., than you should just stick to on line games. You're over thinking the process.

I disagree with you, it's the total opposite. The people who take notes and record hand histories are the best players in the game.

Watched an interview of Phil Ivey the other day, where he stated that he does not read poker books and attributes his success to knowing the other players and how they play. Started taking notes at the table on my IPhone the following day!

I've read in several poker books that the only way to profit is to know the other players and how they play.