I'm better at notetaking then poker (2K + late Pooh-Bah post, longish)

[nomadtla]

I’m a one trick pony when it comes to these milestone posts [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] but I hope I am giving some good ideas with each one.

Consider this an extension of This Thread in which I laid out an elaborate shorthand for note taking. If you have not read that thread you should at least read the stuff about using Poker Tracker to import and export notes. I would also suggest looking at ”The Basic Rules” and ” Now I know what to do but how do I do it all?” sections as they will help with what I am about to say.

As some pointed out in that thread the shorthand may be a bit complex and possibly even break some of the basic rules that I laid out for simplicity and ease I have mellowed a bit in my old age [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] and just couldn’t keep up with that kind of detail for extended periods. So I have gone with broader strokes to pick out standard reads or leaks that you find all over the Micro’s. My change in style was built out of my Trek into uNL, where I found this thread of Valuable Reads for low limit NL players. That got me to thinking that I was being too specific in my notes which made them difficult both to take and to use. So I changed up my method of taking notes. Instead of looking at specifics I began looking for broad mistakes that a lot of micro-donks make and looking for ways to take note of that.
Now remember your stats can give you a lot of info on ranges so it’s not so important to get down every hand, just find some things to refine what kind of cards this 30% VPIP player likes, so that you can refine your ranges.
I came up with a system of listing regular reads in a shorthand format (such as “Preflop 3bets light” is PF3L). Then I began to lay these things out as I saw a player do them. I put an asterisk beside that note every time I see them do that again, strengthening my read. So here are a few I use and a bit about how to see them and how to take advantage of them.

<u> Valuable Reads for the Micro-Limit </u>

All of these are situational, keep an eye on them but as most of us know there are times that some of these plays are correct, you’re just looking for the players that make them when it’s incorrect to do so.

PF3L: Preflop 3bets Light
Watch what cards a player shows down after they 3bet. If it’s out of what I consider a normal 3betting range for a micro-donk player (AQs, AK, TT+) then note it. Just keep it in the back of your mind. This helps you know that if they 3bet you it may not mean you are crushed. I don’t normally use it to call 3 cold because you won’t be closing the action and with 3 cold I have a tight range and am capping with pretty much all of it. This read is more for when you raise and get 3bet just so you know that you may not have to fold AT if an A comes on the board. Things like that.

LWA: Loves Weak Aces
If you see someone call 2 cold and then show down a weak Ace (less that AT) you know he loves to see an Ace. Also any time they show down the super weak off-suit Aces in an un-raised pot. This read can be used in defense when you have TT and raise and someone comes along and then isn’t scared by an A-high flop, you know to back off and maybe fold. It can also be used in offense if you hold a reasonable or strong Ace you can value-bet that A-high flop because most Ace lovers will take them to showdown when they hit.

LSC: Loves Suited Cards
These are the classic “but they were suited players” some will even defend their play with that argument. Much like the Aces if they showdown weak suited hands (in other words J6s, 52s, Q7s, etc….) like non-Ace non-connecting. Just be aware if a board gets 3-flush and they go crazy with it. Also make sure not to give them free-cards with good hands.

SDPP: Shows Down Pocket Pairs
If a player gets to showdown (especially with any real action postflop) with a pocket pair that is like third or fourth pair with the board. That usually means he’ll take any pocket pair to showdown. So don’t be afraid to value-bet your TPWK or even MP. That also means you shouldn’t try and bet them off with just A-high.

SDAP: Shows Down Any Pair
Like the one above some players will show down really weak pairs they made with the board and you use this read just like the one above.

RT/RL: Raises Turn/River Light
I separate these cause some will raise turns light but not rivers, and some will raise a lot of rivers hoping to catch someone playing the river B/F. I have generally found that raises on the BB streets mean what they say (“I can beat a pair or the obvious hand for this board”). But some villains want you to think exactly that and will semi-bluff turns or totally bluff turns/rivers. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are always raising light so use with caution but seeing this regularly will make me more apt to look them up on the close decisions.

BSC: Bluffs Scare Cards
When a typical villain raises or check/raises me on a scare card I usually give them credit. But like the read above that is exactly what some of them want you to do. Essentially this is the same as the read above but some will only do it when a scary card falls and I like to know who they are.

BAR or BWCT: Bets Any River or Bets When Checked To
This is pretty obvious and you see it all the time. Just let them bet your marginal hands for you or feel free to give them a good old C/R with your strong hands.

DMS: Donks Mean Strength
I don't give much thought to a player who donkbets. In my experience they are usually weaker then they want you to think. But some donk their strong hands so use this read and be carefull when they wake-up on you.

SPM: Slow Plays Monsters
You see them all the time the ones who flop a monster and wait till the turn to let you know. They are pretty easy to spot with their turn check/raise on a paired board. Just be cautious around them and don’t be afraid to make a good fold against them if they do it religiously. Some are so religious about it that I even called one out before making the fold. “If you can show your hand and don’t have a full house or the card for trips I will transfer $2 to your account.” I said that out of frustration but sure enough the guy flopped a fully and showed me. Then he continued to play that way. I don’t recommend calling them out on it as they may change their behavior against you.

So there’s a list of the ones I use most often. All I do is just put the shorthand version in their notes the first time I see the behavior. Then every time they do it again I put an asterisk beside the shorthand. So my notes look like.

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Housecalls: PF3BL******, LWA**, SDAP************, SPM***, DMS**

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“Man I give that guy a hard time even when he’s not posting regular” Nothing but love for you man

Again I remind you to at least read the stuff about the import/export functions of Poker Tracker that were in the post I linked at the top. That is the best tool to take notes away from the table during your session reviews then export it to your site so you have it ready to go the next time you see them

So see what other reads you can come up with that you see regularly. Feel free to share them here along with how you use them.

Most importantly “Listen to your reads in addition to your stats”

[Bona]

Very nice. Good "keepin it real" identification of what we actually see in the micros. Nice system of classification. Good support discussion of how to use the reads. This is a nice tool to help us exploit what we see. Thank you

[nomadtla]

[ QUOTE ]
Very nice. Good "keepin it real" identification of what we actually see in the micros. Nice system of classification. Good support discussion of how to use the reads. This is a nice tool to help us exploit what we see. Thank you

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Not as useful as your 1K milestone post though [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Bona]

Nor as well attended or as tightly locked either.

[nomadtla]

[ QUOTE ]
Nor as well attended or as tightly locked either.

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I thought we wuz freindz [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Bona]

We iz