Note taking

Elkay

Hi all, I'm relatively new to poker as a whole and just wanted a bit of advice when it comes to online note-taking.

I watch Sky poker avidly, and generally play small stakes cash games.

My questions are:

What type of notes should I be taking on players? Is 'loose,' 'tight,' 'timid' sufficient, or should I be a bit more descriptive?

What sort of time-frame should I be looking at to identify a player's playstyle? For example, if I play for an hour with an opponent and he plays nearly every hand, would my description of 'loose' be accurate, or could he just be a tight player on a good run?

many thanks

Elkay

AcidMan27

There is no definitive answer really, write down whatever you feel will help you when you read it.

I tend to write down their style first, then some key hands i've seen them play and get to showdown. I'll also list what game this hand was in.

SJspanky1

Are they passive/ aggressive. Do they believe bluffs or always call.

What hands you have seen them open/ 3bet /call with. What hands have you seen them get all-in preflop with.

Any other mumbo jumbo that helps you to asess situations when playing pots against them.

Lambert180

I've been reading a opker book recently that discusses note-taking on players and it said there are 3 main areas you want to be able to assess people on pretty quickly.

Loose/Tight - How many hands do they play? Have you seen them show a hand at showdown and think to yourself 'what the hell was he doing playing 4Toff' lol.

Aggresive/Passive - Do they always raise when they come into a pot, do they 3bet alot, do they limp alot preflop? Post flop do they just check/call all the time, or are they keeping the aggression going?

Level of deception - Do they slowplay monsters or just bet their big hands? Do they always just check/fold when they haven't hit and bet when they have?

Obviously, aside from these, you can get more details  on specific situations like 'just check/calls with a straight draw/flush draw' but I think if you get a handle on the 3 areas above for each player, you'd be off to a very good start.

P.S. The amount of space you get on Sky to write in the notes box is tiny so beware.