As a poker player you should always be trying to become a better player. One way that you can become a better poker player is by keeping records of every session that you play. By keeping records of your sessions you’ll be able to look back on how you performed over a long period of time. The only way you’re going to be able to find leaks in your game is by analyzing your previous sessions. You won’t have the luxury of viewing your hand history when you’re playing live, but when you play online you can even view your hand history. When you’re playing in a land based casino you should make sure you keep track of the following information when possible.

* If you play at one land based casino or poker room such as the Bellagio only then you won’t need to keep track of where you play every session. If you have been playing poker in different live locations then I recommend keeping track of where you played each session. The reason is so that you can find out where you’re winning money and where you’re losing money.

* The most important stat that you need to record is how much you won or lost during your session. Make sure you always write down exactly how much you won or lost so that the results are exact. When you look back on them you want to make sure the records are correct or else you won’t be able to improve your game where need be.

* You should keep a record of how long your session was as well so that you can figure out how much you won or lost per hour. If you lose $50 in two hours that is a lot different then losing $50 in 10 minutes so it’s important you keep the time. Sometimes you’re not going to hit many hands during a session and if you can keep your stack around even for the day then you’re doing fine. You need to be patient in poker when you’re trying to make a lot of money because once you start rushing you’ll often start losing.

* The last two things that you need to record in a notebook or on your computer after each live session you play is what poker game you played and what limits you played at. If you played in any tournaments then you should keep these records separate from your cash game records. Of course if you only play one poker game and/or the same limits every time you go the casino you won’t need to keep a record of these stats.

By keeping records of the following data above you’ll be able to look back on your live sessions to see where you can fix your game. Every poker player has some part of their game that they can improve so there is no reason why you shouldn’t keep records of your sessions. I guarantee if you keep track of sessions and then spend the time analyzing them you’ll become a better poker player then you currently are right now.