Advantage Online

Online poker players really have a big advantage and some of them don't even realize what it is.

When some people play poker in a casino, their record keeping tends to become shoddy. They log the buy-in and the cash-out, the game limits and maybe the amount of time played. They might record the amount of money lavished on the gorgeous cocktail waitress or the pittance they've tossed across the felt to the dealer. But often they don't keep track of who the toughest opponent was or what kind of tells a particular player had.

Anyone who plays regularly should keep detailed records for no other reason than to improve his or her game.

And when you are playing online, you can keep as much information as you want, either on a notebook file onscreen or in a notebook that's sitting next to your mouse.

What kind of information do you want to keep?

You'll want the basics‹cardroom name, table number, limits, time in, time out, starting bankroll and ending bankroll. You'll also want to keep the screen names of your opponents because you could meet them again and you'll want to record how they did when they played fast or slow.

You should keep a record of which screen name beat you Š whether it was a good beat or a bad beat. This will serve both to let you know if there's someone who has identified your style of play or if you're playing the wrong kind of hands.

You'll want to keep track of the hands you played in what position to see if your game fits the parameters of position play. By keeping this record, you'll be able to tell if you can loosen up or have to tighten up against these players.

I recommend setting up a worksheet in some kind of program like Excel so you can fiddle around with sorting. Like some sports bettors do, you can use this method to find patterns you might not be aware exist, and this can only help your bottom line.

You could uncover a lot of helpful information about your play by keeping these extensive records. It could show you if you're getting involved in too many pots and if you're keeping a record of your starting cards, you'll be able to tell which kind of hands you should shave off.

Bottom line, though, keeping a record of your play will help show you how much you earn/lose based on the number of hands you're playing and let you know whether you're playing serious poker or just having a little fun.

Here's hoping it's both.