Top 10 Tips for Taking Live Poker Notes

Not all of us are blessed with the photographic memory of Phil Ivey and the average poker player surely can’t recall every other player’s tells like Rounders’ Mike McDermott. That means that pretty much every poker player is likely to benefit from taking notes on their opponents. Online, this couldn’t be simpler, as poker software has this functionality built in, plus it records the proceedings of all hands on your behalf. But what about taking live poker notes? Up until recently, live poker note-taking could only be done via pen and paper, or perhaps via a Dictaphone (Gus Hansen style). But that’s SO 20th century. With everyone these days carrying Smartphones and mobile tablets, you’d think there’s a hi-tech way to do live poker note-taking, right?

Enter the Poker Notes Live mobile app. Available for FREE, there’s never been an easier or more convenient hi-tech way to take notes at live poker tables.

Now that you’ve realized the importance of taking notes while playing live poker, and how easy it is to do, here are 10 great tips to help you make the most of the Poker Notes Live app:

1. Be sure you’ve got an Android and/or an iOS device with you at the table! Poker Notes Live is available on Smartphones and tablets and can be downloaded for FREE from the App Store and Google Play.

2. Utilize icons (e.g., a rock, a fish, etc.) to quickly tag and classify your opponents at the table. Then, focus on each opponent individually to take more exhaustive notes. You can also use customizable, color-coded tags for this purpose.

3. Take notes as inconspicuously as possible, between hands only, as soon as you notice something about yourself or your opponents worth jotting down.

4. Keep track of players who switch seats at the table by moving them to their new seat within the app as well. Long-press the player’s name, then select Change Seat to move them to a different spot around the table.

5. If a player you’ve already taken notes on in the past has joined your table, search for them in your Player List and assign them to their seat around your table in the app.

6. Use abbreviations and shorthand to take notes as quickly as possible. There’s a limited amount of time between hands and you don’t want to miss out on the action at the poker table itself.

7. Be sure to record your buy-ins and wins/losses for each cash game session. This will help you keep track of your total profit/loss across multiple sessions and tables over time.

8. Calculate your hand’s odds against an opponent’s hand, or range of hands, using the Calculate Odds feature from the main menu (Android only). This ensures that your notes will be as precise as possible.

9. Email your notes to yourself for further review away from the table between live poker sessions.

10. Follow Poker Notes Live on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook for updates and more great poker note-taking tips.

Robbie Strazynski is the co-creator of the Poker Notes Live app and the Founder of the Cardplayer Lifestyle poker blog, the go-to news and information source for recreational poker players and fans.