not keeping records

[bundle]

I thought with the New Year being here, I would start keeping good records,But have yet to do any of it, the reason for this is simple.

I don’t see the need for it since I know what my online bankroll is. If it goes up I’m doing ok, down I’m not. SIMPLE.

I would say if I was putting money into my bankroll from my pay check (it’s spelled like this in the States)

Then I would need to start keeping records. I still have my bankroll from last year, so I just know where I’m at without having to write stuff down.

As for player note’s, well that’s a MUST. I have them for cash games. But don’t have many for MMT because I don’t feel I need them there. Maybe I do need them, you just move so often it don’t seem worth it.

[Longy]

I am a record keeper, i like to know how im running and i don't think it affects my game win or lose so no problem there. I keep records for my wins or losses in one place (use cardplayers poker analyst effort).

I also use poker tracker i find this invaluable at times it has told me things i already knew about myself like that i am out and out TAG (tight aggressive) but also that i complete from the small blind too much and that i probably don't raise enough from late position, which are things that i have identified to improve my game.

Poker tracker also gives me alot info on my opponents, but i also note take online. Normally subtle things that stats can't tell me like whether people continuation bet, do they bluff rivers with overbets etc. I also date when i took the note, as new players will often improve over time.

I must admit i think this attention to detail is more common in online cash game players who will often encounter the same opponents again and again, they also will face similar situations due to the fixed blind structure.

Overall i think you are handicapping yourself not keeping records or taking notes. In this game take every advantage you can that small edge can often lead to some very profitable decisions on the felt as well as with bankroll management.

[Wardonkey]

I don't keep notes. My main game is STTs and I don't think they are as valuable in these games because of the way the dynamics change so much. In any note I made I would have to record so many details describing the state of the game that I don't think it is worth it. My regular foes play cat and mouse all the time using different straegies and counter strategies so notes on them would have limited value.

I may be making excuses for my own laziness, but I think that while notes are invaluable to a cash player, they are of much less use to a STT player.

[RED-DOG]

I keep records, but its a pain in the arse

All my income, What little there is, comes from poker, therefor, everything I spend has to come from my bankroll

I have to make notes on where I play, how much I spend on buy-ins, what return I get, what I take from my bankroll for living expenses, it gets really complicated

Some of it is in ££s some in $$s so I have to convert it all the time

It get's really complicated, I can have a winning month and finish with less than I started with

[RobS]

I don't keep notes. My main game is STTs and I don't think they are as valuable in these games because of the way the dynamics change so much. In any note I made I would have to record so many details describing the state of the game that I don't think it is worth it. My regular foes play cat and mouse all the time using different straegies and counter strategies so notes on them would have limited value.

I may be making excuses for my own laziness, but I think that while notes are invaluable to a cash player, they are of much less use to a STT player.

Got to disagree here, good notes on STT players is worth a few extra % ROI without doubt.

As for record keeping I use a combination of Pokertracker and simply looking at Withdrawal/Deposit history to keep track of profits on the few sites i play on. For live play I have an excel spreadsheet I record profit/losses and finish positions on.

[mikkyT]

GAMBLING is non taxable... the government will not inccur the losses!

I can guarantee it!

I'ts only been non taxable for a few years. It was a tax that the Goverment was forced to recind, precipitated by the exodus of bookmakers offshore. With the amount of money traded on-line daily the goverment are indeed interested in reserecting the principal of the gambling tax that they indignantly gave up!

That was a tax on bookmakers, NOT a tax on gambling indivduals. Income from gambling has not been taxed in the UK for many many many years, if ever... UK case law is very difficult to overturn, so when a judge passes a decree that a person who wins money from gambling not to do with his trade (eg if he gambles in his own club, it can be taxed) then it is not taxable as it is a prize and not income.

Bookmakers would pass the tax onto their customers, but this was not a tax on gambling income, it was a tax on your stake.

[MrMoves]

I kept a years worth of records to see where I was at shortly after getting started.  Last year I didn't keep detailed records.  This year I'm using pokercharts.com to help keep track of larger targets.

I don't subscribe to all that poker tracker stuff.  If it ain't broken, I don't fix it.

[Junior Senior]

for what its worth, i have an excel spreadsheet for every year of play so i know to the penny how i am doing at each venue / site / game / limit etc. - I like it this way, i really like to know how i am doing and i like to analyse it throughout the year.  If losing stresses you out and affects your game then it may be good not to keep records (as long as you play for fun) as poker is my only source of income i keep extremely detailed records of wins and losses. - if i get on a losing streak long term and i can't make it pay then its back to the jobs pages, howvere i think i would still keep records out of interest.

reddog - as for $ and £ I keep all my records in £'s but use XE.com everytime for the correct realtime currency conversion.

[Wardonkey]

I don't keep notes. My main game is STTs and I don't think they are as valuable in these games because of the way the dynamics change so much. In any note I made I would have to record so many details describing the state of the game that I don't think it is worth it. My regular foes play cat and mouse all the time using different straegies and counter strategies so notes on them would have limited value.

I may be making excuses for my own laziness, but I think that while notes are invaluable to a cash player, they are of much less use to a STT player.

Got to disagree here, good notes on STT players is worth a few extra % ROI without doubt.

Please give an example of a note you might make on a STT player.

[Robert HM]

During THM League I noticed that I put a not on the S James software about one player. I couldn't remember what I put so I had a peek, there was a single four letter word, which I can't repeat here, it summed him up perfectly and felt no need to change the word as he hadn't changed his ways.

[Jamier-Host]

Was it "LUCK" for me??   

I was introduced to pokercharts by Flushie in about March/April last year and have recorded every online session since.  I didn't think I would manage it at first but it soon became habit.

The most amusing example of the habit was when I woke up with a stinking hangover one morning and found my balance in one site was missing a chunk of cash.  Upon checking pokercharts I had recorded several big money heads up games lasting about 1 or 2 minutes each.  My housemate subsequently informed me that I had been taking great delight in signing up and going all in every hand when I got home bolloxed!

Before pokercharts I had always recorded any deposits and withdrawals on a spreadsheet which I still maintain.  Also I keep live results in a separate spreadsheet.

No player notes I must admit, but then I only play for fun and tend to sit watching dvds rather than actually watching the game!!

[bolt pp]

GAMBLING is non taxable... the government will not inccur the losses!

I can guarantee it!

I'ts only been non taxable for a few years. It was a tax that the Goverment was forced to recind, precipitated by the exodus of bookmakers offshore. With the amount of money traded on-line daily the goverment are indeed interested in reserecting the principal of the gambling tax that they indignantly gave up!

That was a tax on bookmakers, NOT a tax on gambling indivduals. Income from gambling has not been taxed in the UK for many many many years, if ever... UK case law is very difficult to overturn, so when a judge passes a decree that a person who wins money from gambling not to do with his trade (eg if he gambles in his own club, it can be taxed) then it is not taxable as it is a prize and not income.

Bookmakers would pass the tax onto their customers, but this was not a tax on gambling income, it was a tax on your stake.

Was there a specific precedent set by the judicury that has been adapted to common Law?
Its also my understanding that being a member state of the EU has made it increasingly EASIER to discredit and superceed domestic case law precedents in the ECHR, or ECJ.

[redsimon]

During THM League I noticed that I put a not on the S James software about one player. I couldn't remember what I put so I had a peek, there was a single four letter word, which I can't repeat here, it summed him up perfectly and felt no need to change the word as he hadn't changed his ways.

Did the note read
Redsimon: Good?

[thetank]

Please give an example of a note you might make on a STT player.

-Can lay down to a re-raise after making 3*BB raise

-Can't lay down to a re-raise after making 3*BB raise (lvl 5 and onwards)

Or more simply.....

-folder

-caller

Or even simpler still

-f

-c

[Wardonkey]

But someone who is an 'c' earlier in the often becomes a 'f' later on, depending on the situation, you know how you regular opponents play, but I think relying on simple notes like these can be misleading for less familiar players.