Writing down thought process during game?

Does anybody write down their thoughts as they play? I tried it a week ago and it did help a little. I was able to maintain focus and make better more calculated decision where as before I would do certain things and later think..."what possessed me to do that?" But.....

Then, I started writing more detail and more detail. One time the flop came out, the villain bet and I was writing so much the clock ran out and I automatically folded the hand LOLOLOL!!!!!

Thinking back if I were to try this again I would write way less but what do you think?

I haven't tried this but it does sound an intriguing thing to do to maybe analyse certain situations in the game after the game has finished

Will be looking to implement this in the future and try not to let the clock run down

Good luck out there

Its very interesting to note smth important while you are on sessions, you would make a better decision next time against your opponents, so it is Cool if you do it sometimes.

I would recommend that you record a video of your game so that you don't get distracted by recordings during the game you can view your game after the poker session and make recordings I don't make recordings during the game because I play poker at several tables at the same time.

I think it is fine to write something if you want to keep your concentration. Normally in the beginning I will imagine what I should do with my hand in my head. I just start thinking carefully when I have a tough situation. And I will note that hand and review it after finishing the session or the tournament.

why not try to record your session and talk loud about your thought process, then review it later. Kinda feels like too much distraction if you write while you play especially if you multitable

Whodahustla said:

Does anybody write down their thoughts as they play? I tried it a week ago and it did help a little. I was able to maintain focus and make better more calculated decision where as before I would do certain things and later think..."what possessed me to do that?" But.....

Then, I started writing more detail and more detail. One time the flop came out, the villain bet and I was writing so much the clock ran out and I automatically folded the hand LOLOLOL!!!!!

Thinking back if I were to try this again I would write way less but what do you think?

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This is very good for the poker mindset indeed. Even some books recommend this.
Years ago did this and I remember kept me focused and had played good. Writing is further better than recording. But by the years gone by, the laziness took over and I stoped...
But your thread gives me kinda courage to do it again. Thks.

I think this is a fairly effective mechanism for analyzing one's own decisions and one's own mistakes. But this process of writing your thoughts while playing can distract you from more important things. So I think it's more efficient to use screen recording software.

It`s impossible to write everything,but a short notes is a brilliant idea.

Your right...and so I write with Acronyms

tihomir_kula said:

It`s impossible to write everything,but a short notes is a brilliant idea.

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One good example I have below. I was playing $0.10/$0.25 table:

H:QA
V:JA

3, 10, A, K, 5

POS.UTG

H R $0.50. V C.H B $1.00. V C. HBH $1.95. V C. HBH $5.00. V ALL-IN. H C. WIN $9.00

I only play one table so I was able to write this during play. You may understand this already but just incase, it reads;

Hero dealt QA, Villain dealt JA, position I'm playing is Under the Gun. Hero raises $0.50 and Villain calls. Post flop Hero bets $1.00 and villain calls. Turn card is a King. Hero bets high $1.95. Villain calls. River card is a 5. Villian go All-in and Hero calls.

Taking notes while playing is not for me. I'm not going to become a pro player.

I’ll take notes on my phone if I want to reconsider a hand, which I’ll maybe do once or twice an hour. I’ll just write whatever I think is relevant and then think about them all as part of my studying.

Whodahustla said:

Does anybody write down their thoughts as they play? I tried it a week ago and it did help a little. I was able to maintain focus and make better more calculated decision where as before I would do certain things and later think..."what possessed me to do that?" But.....

Then, I started writing more detail and more detail. One time the flop came out, the villain bet and I was writing so much the clock ran out and I automatically folded the hand LOLOLOL!!!!!

Thinking back if I were to try this again I would write way less but what do you think?

Click to expand...

DrazaFFT said:

why not try to record your session and talk loud about your thought process, then review it later. Kinda feels like too much distraction if you write while you play especially if you multitable

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I like this tool for you.

Unless you time out!

At a live table one time somebody asked me if I ever really regret a hand.

My answer was that I usually have a reason for what I did. But sometimes I am wrong. And sometimes I just get unlucky.

Also don't let your inner discussion "talk yourself" into a bad call or a bad fold. But sometimes that happens too.

Good luck!

I use to take notes after bad losses or losing bad hands or getting knocked out of tournaments. on what to never do again and how to play better next time it happens. I call it my poker bible, and I study it before big tournaments or when I don't feel that great.

I always write down my main hands and always try to make it perfect

This does sound very interesting, but I feel it may be too distracting for me while in a game. I think for myself I would record myself talking during the game and then later on listen and then write it down to analyze. I might even consider taking a picture or record the play of a particular hand along with voice.

I've never done any of this before or even considered it but I think I just might give it a go. Thanks for the good idea.

For most i would say just keeping track of results and the hand you busted with. (Unless you win you will be able to see if your getting it in ahead) if you are putting it in behind most of the time you neec to change something. If your putting it in ahead and havent won yet keep doing what your doing and the results will come.

Whodahustla said:

Does anybody write down their thoughts as they play? I tried it a week ago and it did help a little. I was able to maintain focus and make better more calculated decision where as before I would do certain things and later think...Thinking back if I were to try this again I would write way less but what do you think?

Click to expand...

When I play live, i have a notepad open on my phone and I am constantly adding pieces of information to the file as the session moves along. To begin with it starts with tournament or session details: buyin, time, $ won, place finished, etc. etc.. Then i add key info that i might want to review later.

When playing online, we have history on our side so I take less notes as I go.

In addition to notes during the game, i have a spreadsheet file to keep track of every session I ever played so that I can monitor the things I care about, including some specific notes.

I also started a notebook in a word processer years ago, that captured key concepts from articles, videos, books, and even sessions i have played. As it started to grow, it become un-wieldy and I had to start organizing the data better so it was easy to find and i could start making all the various pieces start to fit together better. This has been a tremendous help to me.

Writing isn't for everyone, but I believe that it is a great way to re-enforce what you know.

Good luck and God bless.