Becoming A Better Poker Player: Record Keeping

Ah, paper work! No matter how often I explain it people always think the life of a poker player is all late nights and big pots. Truth be told, mundane tasks constitute a lot of a poker players “work” hours: For every hour spent at the poker tables, a really good player spends an additional hour away from the tables reviewing hands, collating notes, and charting their wins and losses -the latter is known as record keeping.

Winning players treat their records similar to a business that has been audited by the IRS in the past: In other words, they are meticulous! After all, if you are not sure how much you have won, how can you be certain that you have won at all?

Let’s put it another way: Would you accept a check from your employer at the end of every week, unaware of how many hours you actually worked, or unaware of your hourly wage? Of course not, you keep track of what you earn and how many hours you worked. Well, you need to do the same thing with your poker sessions; otherwise you’re setting yourself up to be taken advantage -in this case by your own delusional ideas about your skill level and results.

Not only do you have to keep records, but you have to keep detailed records (and that means more time and effort from you). Good record keeping goes beyond just numbers; simple records that state:

August 5^th 2008 +$120

August 6^th 2008 +$35

August 9^th 2008 -$110

August 11^th 2008 +$185

…Are just not good enough. Yes, that type of record keeping will tell you that in four sessions you have won $230. Unfortunately, it does not tell you how or why, in how many hours, or at what game and limits you happened to play. Looking at these records will tell you one thing and one thing only: Profit/Loss.

So, what other types of information should you be keeping track of? You should start every entry with the date and keep track of things such as:

• Time played
• Amount of money won or lost
• The game and limit you played
• The general game conditions, Loose/Tight, Passive/Aggressive
• Were there any familiar opponents and what did you learn of their play
• Were there any mistakes you made or hands you possibly could have played differently

Basically, the more you keep track of the more your records will be able to help you in the future. You’ll be able to look back and see what type of games you were successful in, and this will help you pinpoint some of the reasons for your success, or failure.

Using this information along with your notes on various opponents will give you an additional advantage over your less detailed opponents. Remember, the more you keep track of, the more of an advantage you have.

When you play online it is even easier to keep detailed records, most sites will give you very detailed statistics, you can look back at the exact hand history at any time, you can sit at your desk and keep track of every single hand your opponents have played, and you can even purchase software that will track every hand you and your opponents at the time have played.

You should also keep track of your expenses, such as gas money, food, parking, etc. since these are necessary expenditures. If you won $15 at the tables but had a $12 lunch and spent $10 in gas how successful was your trip to the Poker Room? Keep track of any expense you incur that if you were not playing poker you would not have. If you ever become a professional player you may be able to write off many of these expenses as well.

Another crucial matter to keep track of are your opponents tendencies. How do they play certain hands? What hands do they raise with? Will they always call on the end making bluffs impossible? The more you know about your opposition the better off you will be, don’t just stare off into space after you fold, concentrate on what your opponents are doing. This information won’t help you win the current hand but could win you one in the future. Again this is especially true online where you can write down exactly what your opponents are doing.