The importance of note taking in online poker

A poker player’s advantage in taking notes is all about ‘want-to’: Every online poker player has the ability to take notes on their opponents, but very few actually do it. Most poker players simply do not have the work ethic to keep detailed notes on their opponent’s tendencies and habits. Fortunately for you –and unfortunately for the slackers—note taking can be the difference between a winning player and a losing player. Note-taking is another online poker advantage, like rakeback or deposit bonuses, that players overlook as inconsequential.

The key to taking good online poker notes is to find the right balance between important details and brevity: In many ways taking notes at an online poker table is akin to a secretary using short-hand to take down a message from his or her boss. Your notes have to be detailed enough to supply you with the information you need, but at the same time they need to be concise enough that you can consult them in a game situation.

Tracking Software

Players who utilize tracking software such as PokerTracker or Holdem Manager will typically use their opponent’s VPIP (Voluntarily put money in the pot) and PFR/TAF (Pre-flop raise/ Total Aggression Factor) to pinpoint their opponent’s style of play.

Additionally, tracking software can give you virtually any statistic you want on your opponents; the three I listed above are just the most commonly tracked by online poker players.

Specific Hands/Actions

In addition to your software statistics you will also be taking notes on specific hands you have seen from the player; or specific actions you have seen.

OR/RR 33 = open-raised and re-raised pocket threes pre-flop

Fl w/ KQ on A56 flop = Floated with KQ on A56 board

C-Bets 2/3 = Continuation bets 2/3 of the pot

CD w/ Ax = Called down to the river with Ace high

Habits

In addition to these notes you will also track any habit you see from the player. These habits are not 100%, but they are tendencies you have noticed in the person’s play. For instance, you may notice a player who pretty much always bets if checked to; or likes to re-raise draws, and just smooth-calls with big hands.

Drawing Conclusions

After you have collected all of the evidence you can then start drawing some conclusions from it: A way of explaining how the person plays that is simple for you to understand, and easy to utilize in a game scenario.

Here is an example of notes I have on a specific player

#hands 262 VPIP 52% PFR 8% TAF .98

Will play 22+/46s+/9T+ for a standard raise: Only raises strong hands: Calls a lot post-flop – hard to bluff

R: AA, QQ, JJ, AKx2, AJs

CR: 45s, 88, A2s, 46s, 9T, 99, 22, 7Ts

FC w/ ATs + C to Riv w/MPTK [Flat called raise pre-flop and called to river with middle pair top kicker]

As you can see, my first notes come from PokerTracker detailing the player’s style: Immediately following that I have a brief description of how I believe the person plays: Below that I have specific hand(s) and details I have seen (which I use to formulate my opinions).

Online poker players have perfected the art of poker short-hand, which allows them to take good, detailed, notes that are brief and to the point. Each online poker player will use their own terms and short-hand to track other players, so it’s imperative you create a method that is both easy for you to record, and easy to understand.

Author: Alex Galin

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