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Donk betting

skeg01skeg01 Member Posts: 298
edited March 2013 in The Poker Clinic
When is it ok to donk bet? I have actually never did it before, i always check to the pre-flop raiser after the flop lol.

If someone could give me an example of a hand(s) when its OK to donk bet, that would be great thanks.
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Comments

  • The_Don90The_Don90 Member Posts: 9,814
    edited March 2013
    I think the ideal donk bet varies from person to person. I almost always check to the raiser too. However there are circumstances where the board texutre just wont let us. 

    Flopping a set on a monotone flop i think is a good example but others might disagre. 
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  • DonohugeDonohuge Member Posts: 36
    edited March 2013
    I like donk betting with monster draws then checking when I hit them on the turn, providing they're the nuts. That way villains think you have an over pair or TPTK and don't like the turn card and will often make the mistake of trying to take the pot down.

    Obviously more perceptive villains will know this but it works good at the micros
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  • ziltoidziltoid Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2013
    When the stars are aligned and you have checked with The Oracle! Twice! Just to make sure...
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  • BorinLonerBorinLoner Member Posts: 3,863
    edited March 2013
    I wrote this in another post a couple of weeks ago:


    "...Alot of players balance their donking range by never donking at all. There's alot to be said for that but if you are ever going to donk-bet you should probably only donk-bet with a polarised range.

    By that I mean you should donk-bet when i) you're confident you have the best hand, so you know you're value betting, and you should balance that by donk-betting when ii) you're confident you're behind, so you know you're bluffing. Donk-betting with marginal value-hands is just going to leave you in tricky situations when your opponent raises you and will mean losing the value of a c-bet from an opponent that's missed and just folds.

    You should really have a decent idea of how your opponent reacts to donks-bets before you do it. You also need to be able to justify why it's a better option than check-raising or check-calling in a given situation."


    I didn't say in that situation that it also can depend on how many opponents there are in the hand and how likely it is that you think one of your opponents will bet on the flop. That can affect your decision to donk-lead and whether it's the best way to achieve your goal.

    You have to think about your perceived range when donking, the range you're giving your opponent, thee board texture how the board might change if you see another card and lots of other things. It's impossible to give a general answer to the question "When should I donk-bet?". Every situation is different.

    Keep your range balanced unless you're playing half-wits (which you should never assume of your opponents) and know what you want to happen. There's nothing worse than donk-betting, being raised and then not knowing what to do... Well, apart from donk-betting with a massive hand and just seeing your opponent fold when you know he would have c-bet.
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  • NColleyNColley Member Posts: 1,178
    edited March 2013
    Borinloner.. you are so obsessed about balance its unreal. Against most players on this site you don't need to worry about balancing at all..

    If there are more then 10 players ACTUALLY capable of exploiting an unbalanced range below 50nl I'd be shocked.

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  • BorinLonerBorinLoner Member Posts: 3,863
    edited March 2013
    I'd rather tell people to be balanced from start to finish than say "it's okay to be unbalanced below NL50 but good luck re-learning the game when you want to step up."

    Balance is important at all levels. You don't need to be a poker genius to see that your opponent donk-betting means he's strong. Even bad poker players are not idiots and do notice trends, even if they don't always know how best to exploit them. This forum too often talks about these players as if they are incapable of learning. I think alot of the winning players at lower limits would be much bigger winning players if they did think more about balancing their ranges.
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  • The_Don90The_Don90 Member Posts: 9,814
    edited March 2013
    In Response to Re: Donk betting:
    Borinloner.. you are so obsessed about balance its unreal. Against most players on this site you don't need to worry about balancing at all.. If there are more then 10 players ACTUALLY capable of exploiting an unbalanced range below 50nl I'd be shocked.
    Posted by NColley
    given that very few players below nl50 have a range wider than Aces - Aces i dont think an unbalanced range exploit is much work for them 
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