The Art of Donkey Dodging
March 17, 2008
So, you take the game of Poker seriously. You are attempting to play the best way you know how and you are always searching to learn and improve. You are out there “in the trenches”, grinding it out at the lower limit tables trying to build your bankroll so you can move up and play higher level players to test your abilities to see if you can hang with the big boys.
If you are like most of us, you are going to run into a hitch in the plan. The hitch can be defined as the Donkey
Typically, the Donkey is the one person you WANT at your table. Once you have identified them, they are your “bank” and they should be easy pickings.
This is the way it is supposed to go but…
NLHE, basically, is a game of probability. Certain combinations of cards have a higher rank than others. When you play NLHE, you bet that your combination of cards have a higher rank than the other players’ cards. If you are correct, you win.
Students of the game know these rankings and probabilities. The Donkey either doesn’t understand them or disregards them while playing.
This can be quite frustrating to the serious player as there is still an element of chance in this game. The Donkey can make an ill advised play totally against the odds but still become the victor in the hand. Probability dictates that this shouldn’t happen very often but when it does, it can sure raise your blood pressure.
Serious players usually do not have issues with someone calling a big bet with a hand that is at least worth playing and getting beat. The frustration comes in when the Donkey makes a totally bad call and wins when they shouldn’t have been in the hand in the first place.
Since you want Donkey’s at your table most of the time, why would you want to dodge them?
The ones we are trying to avoid here are the ones that can take you out of a Tournament or SNG with their stupid play.
As mentioned in other posts, there are at least 4 areas of Donkey play that you can not determine on line that you possibly could during live play.
They are drunkenness, boredom, tiredness, and having to leave the table. Being able to physically see someone at the table can give you information as to whether or not these factors are affecting the play. So, playing live can help remove these situations which can reduce your exposure.
It’s funny. Usually, the only time I hear BIG complaints about Donkey play is when the “good” player is taken out of the game by the Donkey. If you don’t get taken out, you mark that player or attempt to set them up so you can get all of their chips. So, what we need to look at there is how to avoid the Donkey from taking you out of the game.
I have a couple of things I employ to attempt to reduce my chances of this happening.
- 1. I think this is the biggest one – Try not to put your Tournament life on the line pre-flop. I see this happen all the time. A “good” player gets PP K’s and goes all in pre-flop. The Donkey calls with a Q 7 suited and hits a str8 and takes you out. Do not put too much faith in your hand pre-flop. One of the factors mentioned above could be in play or maybe a Q 7 suited is the Donkeys favorite hand. Either way, you are taking a big chance with 5 cards to come. I have found that for whatever reason, a raise of half their chips sometimes make more difference than going all-in. I think sometimes, psychologically, it is easier for a Donkey to call an all-in bet than it is to call a half the stack bet. I feel is has to do with the “what the hell” factor versus the “I am going to loose half my stuff” factor. Once the flop is seen, hopefully, there will either be an A or a K showing. This will reduce the Donkeys effectiveness at winning so they may be a little more hesitant to call an all-in bet. (not always, but sometimes).
- 2. Don’t try to trap a Donkey (remember, this is only when your tournament life is at stake, not during normal play). If you have the hand, don’t mess around. Bet it, get them to fold and walk away. Getting cute can get you in real trouble with a Donkey. If they are chasing a hand, they could hit and take you out.
- 3. Identification – Make sure you have properly identified the Donkey and try to avoid situations where you are committing all your chips against him. Avoid them until you are sure your hand is really strong.
- 4. Watch the table – If there are bigger stacks at the table and the Donkey has been quite obvious, sometimes you need to lay down a pretty good hand in the hopes that one of the bigger stacks will challenge the Donkey. Try to use the bigger stacks at your table to your advantage.
- 5. Blaming others – If you do get taken out, it’s ok to vent, but I have a problem when people blame the RNG (random number generator), the site (“I just took out money so the site is against me”) and all the other crap. YOU got yourself in a situation where YOU bet ALL your chips when there still was a chance for someone else to take you out. It’s a game of skill and chance. Sometimes, chance wins.
I am sure there are other techniques employed by you out there. I would like to hear them.
Let me know what you think.
As always, good luck out there and comments are welcome.
Comments
3 Responses to “The Art of Donkey Dodging”
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Good post Dave!
I done exactly what you said in your first point last week and was called by a donk, although it was a headhunter tourny (the whole point being that you need to take people out to increase your cash!). I had pocket Kings and pushed all-in pre-flop and was called by an Ace-three of diamonds. The flop was fine but they hit a runner-runner flush and left me with 10 chips. Needless to say, I went out very shortly after. A prime example of the donk getting lucky purely because of my poor pre-flop play. If I had put in a smaller raise instead of all-in, I’m pretty positive I would have taken down the pot post-flop.
As usual Dave, a well thought out and considered post, with some solid advice thrown in. There isn’t much I can add, except maybe people should be more aware of the potential of those seemingly donk calls with poor cards.
Normally at the worst, any two cards are only going to be 2/1 dogs going in pre-flop and 2/1 are game enough odds for many people to chance their arm on a bet. Especially if they have the chips to spare.
I’ll do it sometimes myself and we all do it when we have a chip stack and a low stack is all in. We all generally call those low stack all ins with basically any 2 cards in our hands.. we make a donkey play in effect. And it isn’t uncommon for us to take the low stack out of the game with such hands.
Of course, if I do it, it isn’t a Donkey play…lol
Just kidding.
The only caveat I would throw in what you said Blagz is that in a Tournament situation, where you have a chance to take out a player, this is accepted play. (your risk - low, your potential gain - high)
If you are the “big stack” and you do this and loose, you won’t be posting in a forum about a bad beat or a Donkey play.
The Donk factor comes into play when someone who considers themselves a “better” player, “advertises” a strong hand and possibly has a stong hand and still gets called and or raised by inferior cards. This type of play isn’t normally mentioned either UNLESS the “better” player gets taken out or crippled by the play. (your risk - high, your potential gain - medium).
I also think sometimes, the players ego (the one who is calling out the Donks) needs to be considered. A big ego, can promote the Donkey calling. There are some players out there who think that just because they raise or re-raise a pot, anyone who calls them is a Donk. The though process of “how dare he call me” kicks in. I have seen poor players with big ego’s call people Donks because of this but with a small amount of introspect they would realize that maybe they are the ones being the Donk…..
Anyway, interesting discussion….