Joined: Mar '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 57 (M)
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Hello guys some questions on DoN´s? Have you ever been able to win, sitting out the whole game? Is there a method of playing it best for most cases? While I'd like to get a big stack early and relax for the rest of it, I am still not sure of how to ensure that Assuming the tables start with ten players, with a starting chip stack of 1500 , I try to get a decent stack (2500+) and sit out, there's no reason to keep playing when im not in danger of blinding away by the end.. that has worked best for me. What do you think about it ?
Joined: Jan '14
Location: Netherlands
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Posted by av1966: Hello guys some questions on DoN's? Have you ever been able to win, sitting out the whole game?
No I never tried and I first always wanted to but now I think the blinds are too slow and the players go bust too slow and you thus can't get ITM.
It's by the way a very non-risk SnG if you are good at them, then you can almost always double up (despite the fee of course).
Blinding out can work, but when you got almost blinded away, you have too few chips to get a decent stack again and you are busted too soon. So try to play again when your stack is about 5BB and play a few hands. I reckon it'll work out better but I'm not sire as it is long ago since I played them regularly.
Joined: Jan '14
Location: Portugal
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Sitting out is just dumb in my opinion (no offense ). Just keep playing man. You can still fold every hand, and get walks from other players since they know you're playing. And while sitting out you just muck AA, and my gut tells me that that isn't profitable But if something works for you, who am I to tell you to do something different? Good luck
Joined: Jan '11
Location: Germany
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not a good strategy imo...try to double up early can also kill you early ! of course it is nice to double up early but more important is to survive to beat the rake and make a profit in the long run
Joined: Mar '11
Location: Hungary
Age: 39 (M)
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At Pokerstars for example you cannot play your hand if you are on sit out because you are forced to fold and opponent gets whole pot just by default. Only exclusion is forced all-in lottery style tourneys which are not original tourneys when in a one-hand tournament all players forced to be all-in every round because blinds are increase every hand and cover all stack of every player.
------------ Other thing about this tournament that only ipoker super turbo and surprise jackpot sit and gos cash out at least ten percent. Other times you will get lot more fewer amount than double amount of the buy-in exactly. But GL of course.
Posted by hazeform: not a good strategy imo...try to double up early can also kill you early ! of course it is nice to double up early but more important is to survive to beat the rake and make a profit in the long run
Seems to me that this is correct.
As soon as you get in a coinflip situation for all your chips, you've lost already. Since a 50% chance on less than a double up, is a losing proposition, and that is just one hand; you might not even make it even after winning that hand.
I'm no expert, but the regs seem to play very tight early on, and try to steal blinds when they've increased enough to make it worthwhile.
I think some percentage of the winrate of regs is just not risking any chips early on, so that the lesser players have either doubled up or busted out. So I do think they win without playing a single hand every once in a while...
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Germany
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Posted by marqis:
Posted by hazeform: not a good strategy imo...try to double up early can also kill you early ! of course it is nice to double up early but more important is to survive to beat the rake and make a profit in the long run
Seems to me that this is correct.
As soon as you get in a coinflip situation for all your chips, you've lost already. Since a 50% chance on less than a double up, is a losing proposition, and that is just one hand; you might not even make it even after winning that hand.
I'm no expert, but the regs seem to play very tight early on, and try to steal blinds when they've increased enough to make it worthwhile.
I think some percentage of the winrate of regs is just not risking any chips early on, so that the lesser players have either doubled up or busted out. So I do think they win without playing a single hand every once in a while...
Yup, a lot of good points in this post. Basicly what you have to consider in ICM perspective in DONs is that your chips aren't worth as much as in a rrgular SNG if you are a bigstack, so there is no reason trying to become the bigstack early on. The main point is surviving. Non-showdown winnings and knowing the right spots to get them is the key. Being in coinflips or having even less than 50% equity is something that will happen, because shoving ranges are always wider than calling ranges. 50/50s on stars on the other hand are completely different. There being the bigstack often is the only way to get a good winrate. A good Reg who plays mid/highstakes on stars said 50/50s should be analyzed in a 60/10/10/10/10 payout structure rather than DON structure.
Posted by Twistyoursou: Sitting out is just dumb in my opinion (no offense ). Just keep playing man. You can still fold every hand, and get walks from other players since they know you're playing. And while sitting out you just muck AA, and my gut tells me that that isn't profitable But if something works for you, who am I to tell you to do something different? Good luck
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Greece
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Yes it happens. But not sitting out completely. Just folding almost every hand, because with the number of active polayers in the game and when i am saying active i mean those who go for the first place there is no need to risk it sometimes. You just let them fight for it
Should have read the whole post Scratch that, it wasnt about tournaments
Joined: Jan '14
Location: Portugal
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I somehow read I don't like DON... I'm sorry for the comment Monika. You no longer classify as a weird human (: I need to stop reading forums late at night
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Watch your opponents, grinders will be folding 95% of hands here while those new to the game will raise or call with a wider range. Find out who is only playing top hands and avoid them later in the game. Fold all but premium hands in early position and avoid flat calling raises from any position, reraising with monsters. Big-pot hands such as small pairs can be limped behind from later positions, however if a player yet to act has shown themselves to be aggressive this should also be avoided. Preserving your stack is key in the first few blind levels. This gives opponents the opportunity to bust each other, while maintaining the threat of a large raise during the middle stages.
Joined: May '08
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Do the opposite to what the rest of the table does. If they are active, try to be out of the way as much as possible. If they play as tight as advocated here, it may be a good idea to steal all those blinds no one wants.
Joined: May '13
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Yeah looks like you answered your own post lol, it happens to me sometime too , i asked a question but in the same post i answer it lol. My strategy is a bit like yours go hard and fast at the start then wait for players to kick themselves out and then be at the top 50 % and wins. But if the tables is nitty i will raise some good hands and playable one just to get some chips in and steals most of the tie also preferable to fold some cards like JJ in some spot if you have several people in the pot! Good luck mate!
). Just keep playing man. You can still fold every hand, and get walks from other players since they know you're playing. And while sitting out you just muck AA, and my gut tells me that that isn't profitable 
