Making notes on players. Overrated? Waste of time?

#1 7th September 2007, 5:55 PM

Just wanted to ask if anyone actually bothers to make notes on the other players.

John Vorhaus, excellent writer on online poker, swears by it but I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be in the lower limits. I understand that if you play at the high limits at one site then it's important to have a bank of info but what about the lower limits where there are 1000s of players playing at different times and who you rarely see twice?

Also, I've found that those I do tag as fish and who I play later (on the rare occasions this happens) often play differently the next time round anyway.

So, is it worth the effort?

#2 7th September 2007, 5:59 PM

Obviously its completely useless to take notes on players if you never see them again.... aka low limits.

I dont think many of them have any form of skill or tactics anyway, your notes would be like...

* donkey

* loud

* plays anything

* cant read his name

* wins with... 2 4 offsuit Jack Bauer hand

High stakes I would take notes like a fiend, then you remember who sucks, who to avoid, who is a calling station etc

#3 7th September 2007, 6:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurnipHead

Just wanted to ask if anyone actually bothers to make notes on the other players.

John Vorhaus, excellent writer on online poker, swears by it but I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be in the lower limits. I understand that if you play at the high limits at one site then it's important to have a bank of info but what about the lower limits where there are 1000s of players playing at different times and who you rarely see twice?

Also, I've found that those I do tag as fish and who I play later (on the rare occasions this happens) often play differently the next time round anyway.

So, is it worth the effort?

I take a lot of notes and I usually play $25NL (some $10NL) on Stars & Full Tilt. I DO see the same players enough of the time and about 90% of the time they DO play the same way the next time.

Nearly everyone evolves as a player, though. Maybe you could put the date in your notes and change them as the player evolves. But to answer the question: Yes, I think taking notes are still very much worth the effort.

#4 7th September 2007, 6:46 PM

Even at low limits, notes are a must. I constantly run into the same players at 5$ and 10$ sngs, and more so when I occasionally move up to higher limits. Taking notes also makes you concentrate more on the game, which is one of the reasons Vorhaus swears by them in Killer Poker II.

Also, check out this thread ... it has some great posts by Alien Genius on the subject.

#5 7th September 2007, 7:24 PM

I play a bit of .05/.10 Omaha-8 on Tilt and I see a lot of the same players all the time. Also when I moved up, I found that many of the players I had previously seen at .05/.10 are now at the .10/.25 and the notes are still valid. I also use the color coding in the Tilt notes to define player types. Makes it very easy when looking around to see the colors. If there are 4 or 5 yellows at a table, I sit down and start licking my chops.

#6 7th September 2007, 9:16 PM

The FT colors rock! I love the Aquas. They are my chasers till the end.
Notes are a must. They especially come in handy when you are playing a tourney. I try to make notes about all players at me table because i will usually see one or two of them later on deeper in the tourney.

#7 7th September 2007, 9:19 PM

with PT i take less generic notes and more specific ones. like open limping from late position with AA, not 3betting AKs to isolate with 4 people in the pot preflop, etc. things that are against the norm of the persons style. like.. a rock 3betting light.

#8 7th September 2007, 9:26 PM

i play limit and i will say limit hold'em note taking is very helpful

#9 7th September 2007, 10:52 PM

Note taking = underrated. There are many situations were notes help, whether they be in your head or in the poker software. For example I was able to get back some of my losses from one guy, because when I had earlier played quite loosely I had done quite a lot of min raises against him. When I hit the nuts I just raised him a bit each time and eventually doubled my buy-in at the end of the hand.

However, you can't remember every player and that is why it is important to remember to take notes. It is just so easier to sit down and have some knowledge of play styles at the table.

#10 8th September 2007, 1:16 AM

if u want to take notes on players mark the ones who seem to go all in off the bat with nothing and hope u see them when u holding kings

#11 8th September 2007, 3:12 AM

I like notes and have used them, but seeing as how I play live a lot and notes are more inconvenient there, I try to do more keeping track mentally before I'll jot a note.

#12 8th September 2007, 3:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joosebuck

with PT i take less generic notes and more specific ones. like open limping from late position with AA, not 3betting AKs to isolate with 4 people in the pot preflop, etc. things that are against the norm of the persons style. like.. a rock 3betting light.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I was going to post something like this till I say joose did it for me. Yea these are the kind of notes I take I will put specifics on how they played a certain hand so If I see them limp and I raise and they cold call and then raise me C-bet on the flop I can open up the notes and if it reads something like limps AA OOP then I will assume my QQ is no good on a 52J board because of that.

#13 8th September 2007, 3:58 AM

Of course a HUD can give you a lot of information that you can then omit from your notes. You don't have to write down that someone will play any sooooded face card from any position if you can see that their vp$ip is 80%.
That being said, noting things such as what different raise sizes mean can be invaluable to deducing an opponents hand. In other words, what joose said...

#14 8th September 2007, 4:50 AM

When I first started taking notes it seemed useless. But now older and wiser, notes are a definite must!!

#15 8th September 2007, 5:33 AM

I make some key decisions in hands based on previous notes. Definitely profitable to take notes. Mine as also for specific situations about how people like to play certain nut and draw hands. Very useful in Omaha.

#16 8th September 2007, 3:33 PM

I dont keep notes on players, although i do like to keep a mental note and watch everything that happens at the table. this is how i make most of my decision i am not scared to follow my reads. I think it is better to practice this rather than write note because at a live game you can't write notes you have to keep it all in your head.

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