The importance of taking notes on your opponents can't be stressed enough. The more you play, the more you value the information that you have collected on each player at your table. It is quite an advantage to know that player "A" likes to bluff a lot and that player "B" only plays if he has a big pair

Taking notes on the other players at your table, online, is very easy. On some sites, they even put a marker on the player if you have written a note on him before.

When you start taking notes just watch the opponents that stand out, like the over aggressive player that raises every betting round and ends up throwing his hand away at the river.

It's best if you start developing some sort of code system to classify each player. This can be a set of numbers, a group of letters, or anything that will remind you of the way he plays.

Learn to classify players. This will help you in remembering their play the next time you run up against them. Think of them in terms of tight or loose and passive or aggressive. I like to assign numbers for tight or loose and letters for passive or aggressive. For example a very loose passive player might be coded as "8" for his loose play and "A" for his passive play.

Remember when you are watching the other players to keep an eye out for the very tight ones. These players are either too tight and passive or they are just tight, and aggressive when they have good cards. It is very easy to over look them as they are not in many hands. And the tight aggressive player is the most dangerous at the table.

Look for special betting traits that you see.

• Does this player always bet on the button if it hasn't been bet before his turn?
• Does this player like to raise from early position with high cards?
• Does this player slow play high pairs and sets?
• The list can go on, but you get the idea.

Write all this information in your notes, it will give you a tremendous advantage as time goes on.

When you run into a player that you have a note on, review the note. Watch him for a while to see that he still plays the way your note says he does. Many times a player will improve his play with time and you should recognize this and adjust your notes.

In the end it just comes down to having more information about other players at your table. How you use that knowledge is still the most important thing.

Good Luck

Authored by: Robert Myer, Webmaster of Beginner's Online Poker Guide, as well as a poker player for over 20 years