Reasons for betting

There are only 3 main reasons for betting. And while you are not playing against world class opponents you need to use one of those to find out if you should bet.

They are:
- betting for value
- bluffing
- betting to pick up pot equity

When you bet for value you want opponents with weaker holdings to call you.
When you are bluffing you want opponents to fold hands better then your.
Sometimes you have weak made hand and you don’t mind your opponents folding worse hands because those hands have a lot of equity versus your hand. So you want them to fold and give up their equity.

Remember, if you bet and you don’t exactly know which one of those reasons you used, you made a mistake.

Why?

‘Why?’ is the most important question in poker. You should always ask yourself ‘Why?’:

Why did you bet?
Why this guy is watching TV when he's involved in massive pot?
Why preflop raiser checked on the flop?
Why are you so upset by bad beat?
Why are you so happy after winning pot?
Why do you keep playing at this table?
Why do you play poker?
etc

Great self check indicator is if you have done some action (like check, bet or fold) and you don’t have a good answer to ‘Why did you do that?’ question –  you made a mistake.

Finding correct answers to all this questions can be challenging but the biggest challenge for a poker player is to make an effort to find correct ‘why?’ questions. This takes a lot of practice. So next time something happens stop and ask yourself ‘Why?’.
 

How to record live hand history

You need to use abbreviations to quickly record live hand. Do it ASAP after hand played out so you don't forget anything. Find your own style which is most comfortable to you. Main objective is to do it quickly and write down as much details as possible so you can reconstruct hand later after session during session review.

For example:
2c, HJ(500) opens 20, I call(600) JcTc in CO, c,c
4 to flop. (85) 2c5c7s, ck,ck, HJ 45, I r 130, f,f,c
HU turn (345) Qd, ck, I AI 285, f

Translates into this:
Blinds 2/5. 2 limp, Hijack with stack of $500 open raises to $20, I call in Cutoff with Jack of clubs and Ten of clubs having stack of $600. Blinds folded, limpers called. 4 players saw flop with $85 in the pot. Flop 2 of clubs, 5 of clubs, 7 of spades. Check, check, Hijack bets $45, I raise to $130, fold, fold, Hijack calls. Head-up to turn. Pot $345. Turn card Queen of diamonds. Hijack checks, I move all-in for $285 effective, Hijack folds.

Glossary of poker terms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_poker_terms

Table Position Terms

SB - Small Blind
BB - Big Blind
EP - Early Positions:
UTG - Under The Gun
UTG+1
MP - Middle Positions
LP - Late Positions:
HJ - Hijack
CO - Cutoff
BTN - Button or Dealer