One of the most under-rated and under used tools a poker player play has is the ability to take notes on their opponents. In a time where many people who play poker online whilst using poker tracking software or are playing dozens of tables at once, it seems note taking is no longer fashionable to do but taking them can help you win extra money and save you a fortune in the right circumstances.
Whilst I am an advocate for poker software and even use some of it myself it does fall short on the minor details. Although it has a plethora of information stored in it, such as how often Player A will three-bet after an early position player has made a raise it cannot tell you certain characteristics about the said player.
Taking notes on what you see at the table can fill in certain blanks that tracking software leave, such as does a player join a table and instant play poker rather than wait for the big blind to arrive, which is a great tell the player is weak or recreational. Taking notes also allows you to log any mistakes a player may have made or any traits and trends they have in their game. Software may tell you that one of your opponents at a short handed cash game is playing 24% of their hands, raising 20% of them and has an aggression factor of 2.5 but it cannot and will not tell you that he is prone to go on tilt, chases straight draws without the correct odds and likes to isolate limpers.
The key to taking notes is to keep them brief and to the point. There is no point writing a three paragraph essay on something you have seen otherwise when you come to use the note you will not be able to read it all and act in time. Create you own version of short-hand, something that is easy to read at a glance but still has all the information you need. It does not need to be flamboyant, just abbreviate some words and you will; be fine!
It is important when taking notes that you do not fill in the available space with standard plays. Think about what you have seen, is it really note-worthy? You only want solid, concrete information in there to refer back to later. Finally, make sure you always make a secondary note of the date and stakes being played as players do improve and what was valid at the $0.25/$0.50 stakes six months ago will probably not be the case now at $1/$2. Remember, incorrect information is worse than having none at all.
