Help on Note taking

Ducky7

Ducky7

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One thing i am very bad at is note taking.

I know it is a key part of being a poker player online. Yet i struggle to take notes enough.
Im not brillaint at spotting things i should be taking notes on:
Ie - Player A donks middle pairs. I will already be putting him on those kind of hands if he is a fish but fail to make notes on it for future reference.
- Another example being bet sizing, i dont think i have ever made a note on someones bet sizing as a tell. Obviously when in hands i can figure it out but i do not make notes on it. (ie pots the nuts)

There are probably a ton of other examples but those are a couple i can think of at the top of my head.
So my questions are
A) what should i be taking notes on? Specifics
B) What kind of things should i be writing in my notes. (is it like colour coding and coming up with your own system) Should it be specific hands, Ie Villain can raise light on paired boards, or should i write the hand history in brief and deduce it from that in the future IE Villain raises AAx flop light
C) How can i make myself take more notes and practice it in sessions (bar keep playing and i will get better)

Think there are a few more questions which im sure will come to mind if this thread develops. Hope it can spark up a debate for everyone as im sure everyone has their own ideas. :eating:
 
absoluthamm

absoluthamm

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IMO the best way to take notes is to keep it simple. Find your own shorthand because you don't have time to read a paragraph when you're trying to make a decision. I will usually break mine down by streets with any extremely pertinent information at the top.
!!!Huge Fish, Calls ANY AIPF With ATC!!!
PF: OLimp/Call AA @MP w/3; Comp any SB;
F: Ch/R = Set+; Floats all bets w/ Str|Fls
T: F if float didn't make it
R: Showing down anything if made it this far.

Just off the top of my head, pretty extreme fish example. Usually as I play someone more I will modify/simplify if two notes are similar(QQ+ instead of two similar with AA and QQ etc)

I color code just off of my HEM stats just to help me notice quick at the table or when I am going through the lobby.

You don't need to be extremely specific, sometimes I will just write TP instead of QQ.

Going back to what I said earlier is probably the easiest way to help yourself take more notes: keep it simple. If you feel like every time you're taking notes you're writing a novel, then you won't want to, nor do you have the time. But when you're only writing 10-20 characters, it's much easier. One way to make it faster at first is to always keep this copied to your clipboard, so you don't have to keep writing this same thing over:
!!!!
PF:
F:
T:
R:
It saves seconds, but they add up when you're taking a bunch of notes.
 
G

GWU73

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^^^ Basically This^^^

Just make yourself a key so your color codes are consistent.

My usual notes will be short, followed with strategic adjustments:
LAG, 3bets my steal 3 in a row, opens ATC; value hands only vs him. -or-
NIT, folds to 3bets, raises are real; keep pots small unless have nuts

Just make them useful.
 
bgomez89

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Color codes are awesome especially when looking for tables.

Notes are fun. Just write what someone did that didn't make sense to you and what they had. Notes like

****ing asshole donk shoved TP on a four flush board, making me fold 3rd best flush. Slow roll his bitch ass

are also quite effective
 
JCgrind

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just going through some now to give you an idea.

flats BTN raises ITB w/ AKo
4b AKs IP, open shove missed flop ~pot
c TPWK (KJ) x3 streets twotone flop bricked FD
 
Ducky7

Ducky7

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Thanks for the feedback, will come up with something and probably ask for some feedback on that too lol
 
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Goathair

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I use Notecaddy, and have found it to be pretty excellent. i ended up purchasing something called Notecaddy Edge which is really cool. Their HUD, Badges and Popups are pretty excellent. maybe take a look.
 
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