Do you ever take notes on someone after one weird hand?

Nesehorn156 · Aug 28, 2026

I had a player call a big river bet with second pair yesterday after I had been betting pretty hard the whole hand. It made me wonder if I should make a note on them or if one hand isn't enough information.

I usually don't like making notes unless I see the same thing more than once.

How much does it take for you to make a note on an opponent?

R.Melnyk77 · Aug 28, 2026

I only take notes when someone plays with me in tournaments regularly. Notes based on one or two decisions of an opponent do not provide useful information, and can even be misleading.

fzap1983 · Aug 28, 2026

I think one hand can be enough to make a note, especially if the decision is really unusual. I just try to be careful not to treat that note as a permanent read on the player. For example, if someone calls a huge river bet with second pair, I might write something like “called big river bet with second pair” rather than “calls too much.” Then, if I see them do it again, I have more evidence that they actually tend to call too wide. I think it’s better to make a simple note based on what you actually saw and then look for a pattern over time. One hand is information, but it’s not necessarily a pattern

Coolcassv9. · Aug 28, 2026

I always take screenshots of these kinds of hands—usually the ones I lose, about four or five of them—and analyze them in detail later.

TeUnit · Aug 28, 2026

I take notes as much as I can. If I have to many tables going then I either try to mark the hand in my hud, or save the replay and put the notes in later.

Then I try to color code players as soon as I get enough hands on them.

If play is slow I will try to sharkscope everone.

BillyR23 · Aug 28, 2026

Yes - I like to take notes in general, but especially after 'weird' hands/plays - this information can be very useful when you're in a difficult spot... still, I don't go too 'crazy' after a (very) small sample size - mistakes happen, especially online... but, if you see similar big mistakes from the same player - it's pretty easy to come to an accurate conclusion (I do like to revisit the notes and even reset everything from time to time as nowadays (some) players can improve their poker skills drastically after relatively short periods of time).

Das991992 · Aug 28, 2026

I’m similar. One hand is enough to make a small note like “called big river bet with 2nd pair,” but I wouldn’t treat it as a reliable read yet. If I see the same tendency again, then I start giving the note much more weight.

veszmo · Aug 28, 2026

I usually take notes, but not always. If someone does something really outrageous, I do. Briefly and in a way that I can understand.

fifille07 · Aug 28, 2026

No. I don't play enough to make these notes useful for me.

Pabloro10321 · Aug 28, 2026

Note-taking

Yes, I take notes if a move catches my attention, even if only once. I consider it an observation, not a confirmed pattern. It takes me about 5 to 10 seconds.

Flyer35 · Aug 28, 2026

Nesehorn156 said:
I had a player call a big river bet with second pair yesterday after I had been betting pretty hard the whole hand. It made me wonder if I should make a note on them or if one hand isn't enough information.

I usually don't like making notes unless I see the same thing more than once.

How much does it take for you to make a note on an opponent?

That's not that unusual, but since not everybody does it I will make a note when I see it happen.

The ones that I ALWAYS note is when they limp with AA or KK. That is unusual, and very few people do it.

But mostly I take notes on particularly nitty or wild players, although the latter case is usually pretty obvious after just a few hands. Of course they also seem to be the ones who all of a sudden show up with Aces or Kings.

Semprini · Aug 29, 2026

Absolutely I will take a note in this case. When I read the note later I will know whether it is based on 1 hand or not.

Poker Orifice · Aug 29, 2026

TeUnit said:
I take notes as much as I can. If I have to many tables going then I either try to mark the hand in my hud, or save the replay and put the notes in later.

Then I try to color code players as soon as I get enough hands on them.

If play is slow I will try to sharkscope everone.

I do almost exactly the same as this ^

If I have too many tables running to put a note on a player I will pull up the hand history replayer and will get back to the player when I get a chance &/or take a screenshot for later if on a site with no HUD.

I'm regularly taking notes while 4-tabling ZOOM style tables.

A lot can be revealed about a player from just a single hand in some cases.

Joujou113 · Aug 29, 2026

Nesehorn156 said:
I had a player call a big river bet with second pair yesterday after I had been betting pretty hard the whole hand. It made me wonder if I should make a note on them or if one hand isn't enough information.

I usually don't like making notes unless I see the same thing more than once.

How much does it take for you to make a note on an opponent?

I usually treat one strange hand as a clue, not a confirmed read. I might make a small note about it, but I won’t change my whole strategy based on one hand. If I see the same behavior again, then I start giving the note much more weight. Sometimes players simply make one unusual decision, so I think patterns are more reliable than isolated hands.

JuniorCordeiro10 · Aug 29, 2026

Basically, all information is important, so whenever I see something or spot a pattern, I make a note of it so I can use that information about the player later in the tournament when making a decision.

wavefunction · Aug 29, 2026

I wouldn't make a strong note from just one hand, but I'd probably write something small if it was unusual enough to remember. Something like “called big river bet with 2nd pair” rather than deciding straight away that they're a calling station.

If I see them do it again, then the note starts becoming much more useful. Two or three similar spots would make me pay a lot more attention to it.

I try to keep notes about what they actually did, not what I think they are. Otherwise one weird hand can give you the wrong idea about someone for the rest of the session but making notes about each player must be considered as very good practice

Nameless14 · Aug 30, 2026

I'm more or less same. One hand I can't see much, but I'd do it again and again till I get some more info. If same thing happens again, I'd take notice and start calculating. But not overreact on one hand. Two or three same actions and I'm already considering possibilities. 😅 One hand I'd make a small note to myself about that particular situation, and go on observing same patterns till they repeat themselves. Then I'd start actually calculating. ♠️

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Do you ever take notes on someone after one weird hand?

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