Do You Have Trouble Keeping Track of Multiple Players?

[ventrolloquist]

I was wondering if you ever struggle keeping mental notes on more than one player?

Some cardrooms like unibet don't allow note taking, and also in Live game situations where it's inappropriate to take notes you have to keep mental notes.

Personally if it's a 6 max game I tend to do better because I can get reads on people's play-style much faster, and it's easier to find players who stick out from the norm.

But I struggle at full ring games to keep mental notes on everyone aside from "aggressive" and "calling station". Anyone else struggle with this too? There's just too many important parameters per player, like is he position aware, is he aware of his stack, is he fit or fold, does he float or is he a station, etc.

What are your tips to keep track of lot's of players over a short sample of hands? Anything you discovered that helped you memorize this kind of stuff better at a table?

(I'm not talking about learning the play style of someone you've played with for hundreds of hands since that comes naturally)

 

[Branimir84]

I play on PS so notes making is a feature, but I can certainly say that there is no way in hell I'd manage to keep mental notes on players. There are too many players, tables etc.

I'd advise making notes on paper (or even better on programs like excel) about players when playing if it is not a supported feature on site, and even if it is like on PS due to the fact that notes are tied to the local device.

 

[Collin Moshman]

I agree with Branimir, you can always keep up a separate document with notes. If you're playing live, put it on your phone -- typing and looking at your phone when you're not involved in a hand is definitely normal behavior in a live game.

With that said, you don't need to have an excellent grasp of all parameters. If you're playing a solid game, and know basically how your opponents play, that's probably over 90% of the battle! For example, the player to your left is tight-passive so you bet and raise more often into him -- that's most of a read there even without knowing more specific tendencies like how his strategy changes when short-stacked.

 

[ventrolloquist]

Thanks for the pointers guys. Relief to see it's not just me struggling with this.

 

[roger perkins]

IMHO if you're playing on a site that doesn't allow notes or if you're playing that site that doesn't allow a HUD. If that site is not full of fish and you're not making tons of money on it find another site to play on. Having the ability to use a HUD and keep notes increases your profitability chance greatly. I agree with Colin I have seen people in a live game taking notes. I even saw 1 lady taking notes with a pencil and little scraps of paper. I also liked his point of at least grasping the basics of how players at the table are playing. A lot of times when I played live I did that I didn't keep notes I kept that mentally. Overtime when I played live I tended to see a lot of the same players and just reinforced by mental notes of how they played. I would also talk to friends and ask them how they thought someone played. I would listen to them and value their opinion also. I never did think about keeping notes on my phone that's a great tip I haven't played live in about a year-and-a-half but when I go back I will do that thank you Colin

 

[BlackJesus]

In my experience there simply isn't that much players at one table worth taking notes. Sure, there could be more than one player worth noticing, but, no, I have no troubles of keeping mental notes on them, if that is the question. Usually, it's just one player, maybe 2. It is easy to remember a couple of players.

 

[Luvepoker]

I have no problems keeping up with the players at the table and I do have notes. The thing is they dont have to be deep notes. If you have a basic idea on the players style that 80% of the battle. Its the odd things that happen that are the rest.

 

[myquickwit]

Just take your own notes. I usually only write down something a player did that was either unusual or bad. If someone is really good I just mark them with a color and I try to stay away from that player as much as possible. The more notes you have on someone the better. There are times I have had someone marked with a color indicating what I believe their skill level to be but with no further notes which has hurt me at times when facing difficult situations. So more is always better. You can never have too much information.

 

[Alekxandrovi3]

Previously, it seemed that it is hard. In fact, everything is based on a minimal attention to what is happening at the table. Who plays with an aggressive only with good hands. Who are often bluffing.

 

[Eric Salvador]

I found it difficult to keep track when I first started playing but I started keeping myself aware of user tags and worked on keeping an idea of what they had played like against me. It’s hard to do but if you work on it enough you’ll find it becomes easier