There is a lot of rhythm to a poker game, and we tend to get into a rhythm while we are playing perfect poker. This rhythm usually occurs when you’ve landed in “the zone” and find yourself playing not just good but great poker. All of your decisions are spot on and you’re masterfully pulling the strings of your opponents like a puppet master and his marionettes. You just slide into a state of awareness where you almost anticipate what the other players are going to before they even act do, and then… POOF… someone fires out a donkbet and you’re “zone” bubble bursts as you’re snapped back to reality and your mind tries to make sense of what just happened.
The donkbet in 2014
In 2014 players aren’t supposed to lead into the pre-flop raiser; they’re supposed to check to the raiser, everyone knows this! But this is precisely why the donkbet is such a powerful tool; it’s become an underused tactic in modern poker –perhaps for no other reason than people don’t want to be associated with anything that has the word “donk” in it? Put aside the name for a minute and think about how you currently interpret donkbets. Now think about how you could exploit a player who interprets them just as you do? If you’re like 90% of the poker players I know you probably just realized you have a potential major leak in your game; lucky for you most good players don’t employ the donkbet in their game either.
The different meanings of the donkbet
A donkbet could mean just about anything depending on the player doing the donking. Here are some generalities about specific player types and how they employ the donkbet. Weak Players By weak players I mean your run of the mill losing to almost break-even player. These players don’t three-bet too often, and they almost never four-bet without the goods. Overall, they play a pretty vanilla game. Most of the time you’re gut instincts about the donkbet will be pretty spot on when it comes to a weak player. For most of the weaker players you encounter a donkbet generally signifies a medium strength made hand. That being said, just as the poker world adjusted to the squeeze play, even weaker players in today’s game are catching on that good players interpret a donkbet as a weak made hand and they have started to adjust somewhat… somewhat. Because of this, you’re far more likely to find modern players, even the weaker ones, donkbetting some stronger hands as well, or not donkbetting at all. You’ll still come across your typical medium pair donkbettors, but you can no longer discount that they’ve flopped a set either. Fortunately, the one thing you still won’t see very often is a weak player donkbetting draws or complete Air. It can happen, but it’s pretty rare, and if it did happen I would reevaluate my thoughts on the player’s skill level. Generally speaking a weak player’s donkbet is almost always a pair or better. Thinking Players Unlike weak players, thinking players can donkbet with a wide range of hands, and once they do it once they are far more likely to use whatever image their donkbet portrayed to their advantage. [inlinetweet prefix=”via @TournPokerEdge” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Thinking players that do utilize donkbets are likely to be using them properly and balancing their range[/inlinetweet] if it’s a common tool in their bag. When a thinking player donkbets into me I simply reframe the way the hand has been played and switch them to the preflop aggressor, as if I called their raise in position and now have to play post-flop against a continuation bet. It’s not perfect, but it keeps me from over-thinking the situation.
Adding donkbets to your repertoire
The first thing you need to consider is that you should use donkbetting sparingly, because the last thing you want to be doing is figuring out how to balance your donkbetting range. [inlinetweet prefix=”””” tweeter=”” suffix=””””]If you need to balance your donkbetting range you’re probably doing it wrong![/inlinetweet] Donkbets are simply too exploitable to use on the regular. The second thing you need to consider is who you are donkbetting into to, and how this person is likely to interpret a donkbet. The key to understanding this is to not only have a handle on your opponent’s table image but on your table image as seen through the eyes of your opponent. You really shouldn’t be messing around with other thinking opponents unless you feel you have a good read on them and can manipulate them. For several years, not as much anymore as players are catching on, I was donkbetting almost exclusively with flopped sets and getting paid off more by good players than weaker ones. On the other hand, if you flop top two pair it’s better to not donkbet because it’s far less likely your opponent has anything themselves. Flopping a set of 4’s on a KQ4 flop is completely different than flopping top two pair on that flop. The point is, in situations like this don’t try to overthink what another good player is doing, it’s usually a better idea to take a more conservative line.
Donkbetting Tips
I don’t like to dole out specific advice simply because in poker the correct answer is often “it depends,” but here are a few generalities about donkbetting situations that may come in handy: Against an aggressive player who will interpret your donkbet as a weak made hand… In this case I would donkbet with most of my powerhouse hands and hope for a raise. Depending on the flop texture you could then repop it, or simply call and check to your opponent and let them continue to hang themselves. As I mentioned above, against the right opponent these are perfect times to donkbet flopped sets or even straights or flushes. When faced with a donkbet from a weak player… When someone donkbets into you and you’re almost certain it signifies a weak to mid strength hand before you decide to “outplay” your opponent you need to grasp why they have made the donkbet. Some players are more than happy to fold to a raise, but other players are making this play almost as if they are drawing a line in the sand, and letting you know they are ready to call you down. Make sure if you’re pushing someone off a hand they haven’t drawn the proverbial line with their TPWK. When you donkbet with air or a weak hand and a good aggressive player raises… Provided the stacks allow for it, in these situations I like to 3-bet and here is why. If the good player thinks your donkbet is weak his raise would make almost zero sense with a really strong hand, he either has air like you or a decent made hand that can’t hold up to any real pressure. Rarely will they have a hand strong enough to hold up against a donkbet and a subsequent 3-bet as this is a very strong line. One other point on this: I’ll 3-bet with complete air with deep stacks in these situations, but if I’m 3-betting all-in I prefer to have at least a gutshot, an underpair, or something like bottom pair with a backdoor flush draw just in case my opponent makes the call.
folding_aces_pre_yo
Nice article , cheers!