[crazypete]

I have only been playing online for a short time, but it seams to me that there are so many players that I may never see the same guy twice. Not only that, but if I make a note on a guy and then play him 6 months later... would I expect him to play the same way? I know my game is evolving all the time. Plus, you can only have one player name per computer... so me and my wife both play under the same name. Make a note on me, and you might not even be playing "me" the next time.
I find that I miss too much of the action making notes on guys anyway. (I’m a slow typer and have to look at the keyboard)
Your thoughts?

[DeepBlue]

Notes are essential - I don't tend to mark down too much on individual players - maybe aggressive, plays some low value hands and so forth, but nothing in depth.

I would however, keep notes on particular hands and how I played them, what was the outcome. This will give me more of an idea of the success of certain starting hands and their worth relative to the pot. Pot odds, percentage wins of starting hands are all well and good, but they will differ in practicality depending on your environment, so I would take as many notes as possible. Make them full though, don't note down every hand unless you think its worth it, make sure you refer back to these after a session and be critical on your play.

[louis]

Keep two sets of notes - one for instant use, one for reference. Note down player styles and so forth so instant reference, and note down any odd hands or particularly good/bad plays you make throughout the game.

Have a look through these often, and get a feel for where your play is going, how you can look to improve and so forth.

[DeepBlue]

That's an even better idea - brief notes on the games and the players and more longhand notes on plays. I try to keep things brief when I'm in the midst of a game though I have the problem that they often become useless after the game as I forget the hands and the players completely!

[ThomasR]

Yeah, I generally keep a notebook by my computer when I'm playing. Also important to date and title things, note the limits you play and so forth. Just makes it a little more like a proper log and not just mindless scribbles that become useless 2 hours after you make them.

[ThomasR]

As an addition to my last post, I've now promoted myself to a keeping records on the computer. The presence of windows logging play on some sites means I can copy and paste entire hands to refer back to.

I still keep paper notes to use in game, but being able to log and look back on entire plays or nights is invaluable.

[louis]

That's a nice idea Thomas, can make your own comprehensive notes and records of past plays, though I tend to get a headache reading your typical logs online!