Quote Originally Posted by lorenz0wns View Post
such an excellent thread bro. i have one question though, how do you take notes and classify players if you were to play live tournaments?
Ahh, that's a great question. I started as a live player. I was tournament POTY at my local casino the year before I got internet access. (The prize was a hat, lol.) I don't take notes live, but obviously I'm constantly classifying players. Live is MUCH more internal, and when I play live now I see MANY online players giving obvious physical tells that they likely are not accustomed to worrying about when they are alone in front of a monitor. Also, I see them struggling with figuring out bet-sizes, likely because they can't keep track of the size of the pot and other stacks, etc. It's just something you have to work on, and practice as much as you can. Once I started playing with a HUD, my live game went to shit for a while. I was so used to seeing what % a player entered pots, how often they c-bet, etc, that I forgot to pay attention to that stuff at the table.

Best advice I've gotten was to watch EVERY hand...try to make reads in hands you're not involved in. You'll be lucky if you get a line on everyone, so focus on the 2-3 from where most of your chips are going to come: on your left. The first thing I do is monitor the player on my left VERY closely. Once I get him squared away, I start in on the player to his left. Chips roll downhill, so all things equal, these players should be your main source. Of course, you also want to watch the guys on your right for how they play blinds or how they react to your plays. Pick out the fish, pick out the rock, pick out the shark, and then choose your battles appropriately.