What to Look For

[silverfist]

I've been taking a lot of notes on players, lately, and I admit, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. Hand ranges, sure, but so many hands get folded, it's hard to get good info. How often they bluff, raise and such would surely be more useful.

Are there any good guides out there for reading players from their actions, and adjusting play accordingly? Almost every guide I've seen is for against the "typical" player, but so few of them are "typical". Some people draw with nothing then fold the river. Others call you all the way will bottom pair. Others raise with nothing, every time. And so on. I'm just looking for a link or a book.

[Scuba Chuck]

I would think your real edge you can get from taking notes is focusing on players on the extremes. For example which players are very tight, and pretty much only play TPTK or better. And then, those players that are seeing 7 out of 10 flops. Then I would just take notes on how they played a particular hand.

Here's a somewhat interesting hand. This guy had been raising pretty liberally, and was playing a lot of hands. Not a very imaginative player, and pretty easy to read.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t60 (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t2625)
SB (t4607)
BB (t2566)
UTG (t7287)
Hero (t1510)
CO (t1405)

Preflop: Hero is MP with J, J.
UTG raises to t120, Hero raises to t375, 4 folds, UTG calls t255.

Flop: (t840) 8, Q, T (2 players)
UTG bets t1135, Hero calls [t1135] .

I thought for a little bit about this call. Then it dawned on me, he's one of those foolios. If this guy had a queen, he's check-raising me. His lead was a super strong tell that I had him beat.

Turn: (t1975) 9 (2 players)

River: (t1975) 4 (2 players)

Final Pot: t1975

Results in white below:
UTG has Ad Ts (one pair, tens).
Hero has Jc Jh (straight, queen high).
Outcome: Hero wins t1135. UTG wins t840.

This foolio continue to play a little aggressive, then another hand occurred.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (5 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB (t5151)
UTG (t5077)
MP (t5827)
Hero (t2960)
SB (t985)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A.
1 fold, MP calls t100, Hero raises to t375, 2 folds, MP calls t275.

Flop: (t900) 3, 4, 2 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets t600, MP raises to t2500, Hero calls [t1985] t600, MP calls t85.

Turn: (t4085) J (2 players)

River: (t4085) 6 (2 players)

Final Pot: t4085

Results in white below:
MP has 4c 5c (straight, six high).
Hero has Ah As (one pair, aces).
Outcome: MP wins t4085.

Told you he check/raises top pair. So, Silver, what kind of notes would you put on this guy?

[Staresy]

I would suggest asking a series of questions and try and answer as many as you can for players ....

How many hands are they playing?
What type of hands are they playing?
Does position matter to them in terms of the hands they play?
Are they raising or calling with these hands?
Are they calling raises with these hands?
How do they play them on the flop?
Do they bet or check when they miss the flop?
Do they bet out their draws?
Do they chase draws against the odds?
Do they chase inside-straights or “miracle cards” down?
How strong are the hands that they are showing down?
How strong are those hands relative to the cards on the board?
How do they play their really big pairs (JJ/QQ–AA)?
Are they flush hunters (i.e. play any two suited cards pre-flop)?
Do they play Ace–Rag?
Do they call raises with Ace–Rag?
How do they play middle (66–TT/JJ) and small pairs (22–55)?
Do they bet relative to the size of the pot or the size of the blinds?
What does it mean when they do?
Do they get married to their big hands, even when it’s obvious they’re beat?
How often do they bluff?
Can they be bluffed?
Do they readily take coinflips?

There is so much, but I like to take notes of hands I've seen them play. Such as

Player X - limped into an unraised pot from MP1, then called a 5xBB raise, OoP, and called a PSB with middle pair on a K T 3 rainbow. Showed down JTo (15/30 - 8 handed - $22)

now, I wouldn't rely on this hand solely, but the more hands you build up, the more you get to learn about the way players play.

Probably not the best example in the world, but hopefully it gives you an idea.