Taking notes & reviewing hands
Your brain forgets the tell you paid to learn three weeks ago; a one-line note never does. Notes on them plus honest reviews of you are what quietly separate long-term winners.
Memory doesn't scale
You will face thousands of opponents and tens of thousands of hands. A single note line remembers what your brain can't - and lets you skip solving the same problem twice.
Write the action, not a verdict
Good notes record what you SAW - position, sizing, and the showdown result - so future-you knows exactly how to react.
You noted this opponent as a calling station (a player who calls far too much and almost never folds). The board's ace has paired your ace, so you hold top pair with the best possible kicker — a strong made hand. Value bet or bluff?
Tag fast, exploit faster
Use short consistent labels plus one exploit line: NIT (only premiums), LAG (bluffs a lot), TAG (solid), STATION (never folds), MANIAC (raises everything).
The review is where you actually learn
Flag confusing or big pots during play, then rebuild them street by street afterward. At each decision ask: what's his range, and what did my bet accomplish?
Reviewing a hand from a session where you were on tilt, you shoved 9bb from the button with this hand. Was the shove itself a fundamentally correct play (ignoring tilt)?
Judge the decision, not the card
A correct call can lose and a reckless bluff can win. Grade the choice on the info you had at the time - 'given his range, was this +EV?' - not on the river card.
- Note only actions that change your future play - record the action and showdown, never a vague label.
- Tag players fast (NIT/LAG/TAG/STATION/MANIAC) with one exploit line each.
- Your own text notes are legal almost everywhere; live real-time assistance software is not.
- Grade the decision on the info you had, never the result - a correct play can still lose.
- Flag 3-8 spots a session and keep a leak sheet you reread before playing.
Test yourself
Answer them all — 21/26 to pass. Every answer gets an explanation.
What is the main reason to take notes rather than rely on memory?
Over thousands of hands and opponents, notes turn scattered experience into a reusable database your memory can't hold.
Which of these is a genuinely useful opponent note?
A good note describes a specific, exploitable action and result - something that changes how you play next time.
A note is worth taking primarily if it...
The value of a note is entirely in whether it affects a future decision against that player.
What should a good note focus on describing?
Notes should capture observable actions and showdowns, not subjective judgments.
Online, an instant bet most often suggests...
Snap bets frequently indicate a hand the player already knew they'd bet, i.e. a made hand - a useful timing tell.
In the tagging system, 'CS' (calling station) describes a player who...
A calling station calls too much and folds too little, so you value-bet them thin and rarely bluff them.
Against a player tagged NIT (folds too much), the best adjustment is generally to...
Nits overfold, so you can bluff/steal more, but when they finally commit chips you should believe them.
Are handwritten notes for your own use generally allowed in live cardrooms and on poker sites?
Personal notes for your own reference are permitted almost everywhere; it's live real-time assistance software that's banned.
When is the best time to do a deep hand review?
Reviewing away from the table lets you think carefully without time pressure or tilt.
Why should you also review big pots you WON?
A winning result can mask a flawed decision; reviewing wins catches leaks that variance temporarily rewarded.
The biggest mistake in hand review is...
Results bias evaluates the outcome instead of the decision; a correct play can lose and a bad one can win.
The correct question to ask when reviewing a decision is...
Good review judges the process and expected value based on available information, not the single outcome.
How should you use your leak sheet?
Rereading your top leaks before playing keeps them front of mind so you catch yourself in the moment.
To keep hand review sustainable, you should...
A short honest review of a few flagged hands beats an exhaustive one you can't keep up.
During play, marking or flagging a confusing hand helps you...
Flagging tough spots lets you locate them afterward and reconstruct the decision street by street.
Which note best captures an exploitable turn tendency?
A concrete, exploitable pattern (c-bet-fold turn) tells you to float the flop and take the pot on the turn.
Reviewing your QQ hand on an A-K-7 flop, the key question is...
On an ace-king board QQ is often behind; the review asks whether the bet accomplished anything against his range.
Separating your decision quality from the outcome is the same discipline used in...
The variance mindset also insists you judge process over short-term results, since luck dominates the short run.
The long-term edge from notes and reviews comes from...
Exploiting opponents faster and repeating fewer of your own mistakes compounds into a steady long-term edge.
Which is the LEAST useful thing to record in a note?
A label with no described action gives you nothing to act on next time - the other three are exploitable patterns.
You take a note that Seat 4 open-raised early position with AKo at showdown. The reasonable takeaway is...
One showdown of a strong early open suggests respecting their early raises until data says otherwise.
A correct river bluff that gets called and loses should be reviewed as...
If the bluff was +EV against his range, the loss is variance - judge the decision, not the outcome.
Which practice best avoids results-oriented thinking?
Reviewing wins and losses alike, judged by EV, keeps you honest and immune to results bias.
Which type of software is typically PROHIBITED during online play?
Real-time assistance tools like open solvers and bots are banned; personal text notes are fine.
A 'leak sheet' is...
A leak sheet tracks your repeated errors so you can read them before sessions and stop repeating them.
Color-coding opponents on an online client is...
Built-in color tags are a permitted personal note feature and travel with you between sessions.
Review — all 26 questions & answers tap to expand
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What is the main reason to take notes rather than rely on memory?
Answer You will face far too many opponents and hands to remember reliably
Over thousands of hands and opponents, notes turn scattered experience into a reusable database your memory can't hold.
-
Which of these is a genuinely useful opponent note?
Answer 'Limp-calls any suited hand, folds river to any bet'
A good note describes a specific, exploitable action and result - something that changes how you play next time.
-
A note is worth taking primarily if it...
Answer Would change how you play against that person next time
The value of a note is entirely in whether it affects a future decision against that player.
-
What should a good note focus on describing?
Answer An action and, ideally, the showdown result
Notes should capture observable actions and showdowns, not subjective judgments.
-
Online, an instant bet most often suggests...
Answer A made hand played automatically
Snap bets frequently indicate a hand the player already knew they'd bet, i.e. a made hand - a useful timing tell.
-
In the tagging system, 'CS' (calling station) describes a player who...
Answer Rarely folds and calls down light
A calling station calls too much and folds too little, so you value-bet them thin and rarely bluff them.
-
Against a player tagged NIT (folds too much), the best adjustment is generally to...
Answer Bluff them more and respect their raises
Nits overfold, so you can bluff/steal more, but when they finally commit chips you should believe them.
-
Are handwritten notes for your own use generally allowed in live cardrooms and on poker sites?
Answer Yes, on essentially every site and cardroom
Personal notes for your own reference are permitted almost everywhere; it's live real-time assistance software that's banned.
-
When is the best time to do a deep hand review?
Answer After the session, away from the pressure of the clock
Reviewing away from the table lets you think carefully without time pressure or tilt.
-
Why should you also review big pots you WON?
Answer Because a good result can hide a bad plan (a leak)
A winning result can mask a flawed decision; reviewing wins catches leaks that variance temporarily rewarded.
-
The biggest mistake in hand review is...
Answer Judging a decision solely by whether it won or lost
Results bias evaluates the outcome instead of the decision; a correct play can lose and a bad one can win.
-
The correct question to ask when reviewing a decision is...
Answer 'Given their range, was this +EV with the info I had?'
Good review judges the process and expected value based on available information, not the single outcome.
-
How should you use your leak sheet?
Answer Read your top few leaks before each session
Rereading your top leaks before playing keeps them front of mind so you catch yourself in the moment.
-
To keep hand review sustainable, you should...
Answer Flag and review a handful of meaningful spots per session
A short honest review of a few flagged hands beats an exhaustive one you can't keep up.
-
During play, marking or flagging a confusing hand helps you...
Answer Find and reconstruct it later for review
Flagging tough spots lets you locate them afterward and reconstruct the decision street by street.
-
Which note best captures an exploitable turn tendency?
Answer 'Always c-bets flop but gives up on the turn'
A concrete, exploitable pattern (c-bet-fold turn) tells you to float the flop and take the pot on the turn.
-
Reviewing your QQ hand on an A-K-7 flop, the key question is...
Answer 'Was barreling actually folding out better hands, or just paying off top pair?'
On an ace-king board QQ is often behind; the review asks whether the bet accomplished anything against his range.
-
Separating your decision quality from the outcome is the same discipline used in...
Answer The variance mindset
The variance mindset also insists you judge process over short-term results, since luck dominates the short run.
-
The long-term edge from notes and reviews comes from...
Answer Small improvements compounding over many sessions
Exploiting opponents faster and repeating fewer of your own mistakes compounds into a steady long-term edge.
-
Which is the LEAST useful thing to record in a note?
Answer A vague label like 'donkey' with no action
A label with no described action gives you nothing to act on next time - the other three are exploitable patterns.
-
You take a note that Seat 4 open-raised early position with AKo at showdown. The reasonable takeaway is...
Answer Seat 4's early-position opens are likely strong; respect them
One showdown of a strong early open suggests respecting their early raises until data says otherwise.
-
A correct river bluff that gets called and loses should be reviewed as...
Answer Potentially a fine decision, judged by the opponent's range and EV
If the bluff was +EV against his range, the loss is variance - judge the decision, not the outcome.
-
Which practice best avoids results-oriented thinking?
Answer Reviewing both wins and losses and asking if the decision was +EV
Reviewing wins and losses alike, judged by EV, keeps you honest and immune to results bias.
-
Which type of software is typically PROHIBITED during online play?
Answer A solver or bot providing real-time assistance
Real-time assistance tools like open solvers and bots are banned; personal text notes are fine.
-
A 'leak sheet' is...
Answer A running list of your own recurring mistakes
A leak sheet tracks your repeated errors so you can read them before sessions and stop repeating them.
-
Color-coding opponents on an online client is...
Answer An allowed personal note-taking feature
Built-in color tags are a permitted personal note feature and travel with you between sessions.