[downtown]

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I agree donks or whatever we call them usually think something. However, trying to figure out what it is can sometimes be such a confusing task that we are simply better off not trying.

For me, when I think of the average online opponent on the levels I've played at so far (60$ and lower) I think of two common mistakes.
A) someone who overestimates his cards,
B) someone who plays the bubble badly.

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Common mistakes are well and good, but I strongly disagree with the statement that we are better off not trying. How can the best solution be to not try to understand our opponents?

I do agree with your list of general tendencies, but I think learning specific tendencies is a much more worthwhile task.
-Mike

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I think a difference is what you are trying to accomplish with your game. Take for example two situations, one in which you think of all your opponents as donks, and one in where you try to reason out all your opponents moves.

In situation one, you can play more straightforward and play more tables. Sure, if you play the 55s or around there like you or I do, you are going to lose a few points off of your ROI, but now you can play 4, 8 or 10 tables and make much more $/hr. Of course, there are no absolutes, you can in fact still take notes on good players or very specific tendencies you've noticed.

In situation two maybe you can increase your ROI long term up to 10%, but you can't multitable. It's also very difficult to reason why donks do the things they do... I would rather multitable and try to pick out obvious reads.

My opinion is that it's not worth trying to make really specific reads in SNGs, at least at the 55s, where I play. Your sacrificing too much effort for too little gain - just play more tables instead.