The importance of taking notes
If you are a serious online poker player and spend a significant period of time playing the game and do so to make money, it’s very important that you use the note taking capabilities that the different sites provide for you. In the online cash games, unless you are playing at the nosebleed stakes, you are going to be playing against so many new players that you won’t be able to keep reads on them from memory. So there will be opportunities for you to take notes on your opponents play that you can use against them in future sessions.
So, how should you go about taking notes on your opponents. As I mentioned earlier, most online poker rooms have some features that make this task easier. If you click on a players avatar, it should bring up an area in which you can make notes on their play. Some of these poker rooms let you assign icons or colors to players as a way of note taking and giving you a quick reference as to what type of player they are. Full Tilt Poker is a site that lets you assign a color to a player and that will be displayed whenever you are playing them.
Taking effective notes is not something that can be achieved after playing just a few hands. It’s best to wait until after you’ve played with someone for at least an hour or so. You need that time in order to not form a quick opinion of your opponent that may not be accurate. Another tip is to keep watching the table at all times, even when you are not involved in the hand because you could miss some crucial information that might help you in a hand sometime down the road.
The first thing that should become apparent to you is an opponent’s playing style. You can note whether they are:
Tight-Aggressive, Tight-Passive, Loose-Aggressive or Loose-Passive.
This information alone can help you make the right decision when you are faced with a difficult situation at the table. Then there are other aspects of how your opponents play that will provide invaluable information in case you play them again.
* Are your opponents calling stations who will always call your raises?
* How do your opponents play their draws, do they chase draws even when they are not getting the proper odds?
* Do they overplay and overvalue top pair?
* Will they make continuation bets after the flop? If so, how often do they do it?
Not taking notes on your opponents means that you could very well be leaving money on the table. I guarantee that if you start to do this, it will become an integral part of your poker playing experience and it will give you valuable information about your opponents.
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