donk observations
 

playing over the past year online has made me realize a couple of very important things. Beating donks is simple IF you have knowledge of their tendencies and patterns otherwise you're stabbing in the dark. Beating donks is not as easy as many make it seem; the most difficult part of beating them is that they are unpredictable. Sure, you can pick out mistakes that you made along your journey but everyone experiences this differently and will thus make different plays in different situations. You can count on beating them in the long run, but NOW in the short run (tournament play for example) the only hope you have is that you KNOW he will make mistakes that WILL bust him but are you gonna be sucked on the way is the important question.
Also, I've noticed that beating donks is especially difficult if they are in packs, lol. seriously though, if you're going up against a table of calling stations then you've got a long wait for some serious strength. But it's alright b/c ABC poker can get you by. Donks are most easily recognized by their many steal attempts...

I don't know, these are just things I've realized over the past year...

Re: donk observations
 

I was playing full and I try to steal from the button with Q8s, the aggro donk in the SB 3bets me with his A2o.

Flop comes some mid-low cards and a queen. He bets I call. Turn comes card lower than queen. He bets I call. River comes another random card lower than the queen. He bets, I raise, he calls.

I love these guys. Aggro donks are fun.


Interestingly enough, you also have the semi-tag donks that try to isolate you sometimes and freezeup if you cap it vs them. Those are good ones too.

Re: donk observations
 

I'm not sure I agree. One way to beat a bad player is to figure him out and exploit his weaknesses. But another is to take the initiative and force him into bad situations. If you give him a lot of hard choices, you can be pretty sure he'll make enough wrong ones for you to win.

Re: donk observations
 

yeah, I think you're exactly correct

Re: donk observations
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure I agree. One way to beat a bad player is to figure him out and exploit his weaknesses. But another is to take the initiative and force him into bad situations. If you give him a lot of hard choices, you can be pretty sure he'll make enough wrong ones for you to win.

[/ QUOTE ]
Aaron, you are wise beyond your years. You're not sure you agree? Bullcrap, you know damn well what you are saying is pure wisdom. Forcing donks into making mistakes is exactly how you profit from them. They overvalue hands and never respect your game. They see an ace in their hand and think they're sitting on a winner. They play horrible starting hands and go too far with them. They pay the bills for smart players. However, there is some truth to be said about playing against a pack of them. You really need to adjust your game when there are too many at the table.

Re: donk observations
 

exactly

Re: donk observations
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure I agree. One way to beat a bad player is to figure him out and exploit his weaknesses. But another is to take the initiative and force him into bad situations. If you give him a lot of hard choices, you can be pretty sure he'll make enough wrong ones for you to win.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with RussianBear: This was an excellent post. Beating poor players is as much about being in charge of their choices as it is about the choices you make.