Donks and disrespect

[cynappa]

hey nice work done der..but i find it funny when a j2 goes into a raised all in pot with aa and still manages 2 win.how d hell owuld u describe that. a donk is what i usually refer to.but will b cautious after ur efforts.thnx man..

 

[mjdavinci]

I have to agree with everything you stated in you post. The other nite I was playing in Freeroll I had about 4500 in chip on the button with AJ suited. When a big stack at middle postion with about 11,000 opened with a 1000 chip raise. I called and a player in early postion called it allin with about 1500 in chips. So now their is 3500 in the pot the big stack calls to make it an even 4000 to me. With that call, I than go allin because to just call would make me pot commited at that point to finish playing out the hand against the big stack. All of this is preflop action. Then the big stack folds preflop, the early postion player turns his cards over to show AQ off and the flop comes. I hit a Jack on the flop and win. Then this other player goes on a bender calling me all kinds of different names. What do you think, was it the correct play or not.

 

[bandimore]

I really think that its interesting that everyone absolutely hates being called a donk, thats probably why the term is so widely used. i like the word because it makes people play worse at my table, poker players use anything to get the advantage at a game. realize that.

 

[N.D.]

Actually I played my usual after the incident. In that particular tournament it's normal for me to place 30th or higher. I played my usual game. It's an R&A so the idea is, I double up or better through an all-in situation, then play a tighter, better game. After I double up or better I want to see flops before getting a whole lot of chips in the pot.

As for AQ vs AJ it sounds like a cooler to me. Their hand was only better by one pre-flop. As you said, you would have been committed. I don't think it was such a horrible play considering the size of the pot. It was a reasonably strong A in a freeroll. Also, I'm thinking about how both of you might have played post-flop had it not been a multi-way all-in pot. Strong aces are frequently difficult to lay down. Even when you suspect you're beat, they can be tough to let go of, it's similar with the biggest pocket pairs.

There's a good chance that regardless of how the hand played out, you'd have won and even doubled up through the chip leader. He should have been happy to not lose to some randomly ragged hand. If I lose to a marginal but decent hand or better, I'm relieved, I did the best I could and was outdrawn, but at least my opponent wasn't pushing with crap. That's just me though.

 

[ashershi]

I really think that its interesting that everyone absolutely hates being called a donk, thats probably why the term is so widely used. i like the word because it makes people play worse at my table, poker players use anything to get the advantage at a game. realize that.

He has a point. You play your worst poker when your mad. The phrase will be around in the poker world for years to come. The word get's under people's skin which in turn makes them talk and get there mind off the game. A lot of people say it for stratagy not because they are judging the person specifically.

 

[N.D.]

hey nice work done der..but i find it funny when a j2 goes into a raised all in pot with aa and still manages 2 win.how d hell owuld u describe that. a donk is what i usually refer to.but will b cautious after ur efforts.thnx man..

You sound like you're from Chicago. Anyway, just try to be patient. Understand that as you rise through the ranks in a tournament, the play on average improves. AA isn't really a lock, you need to see a flop, but then it's still tough to get away from a great pocket pair. Later in a tournament it's not unusual to lose with pocket aces to a smaller pair, even a baby pair. I try to remind myself that a baby pair on the board usually means someone has baby trips or better. If I can't beat baby trips, I'll usually fold. It can be really hard to do with a premium pair though.

Also, remember that freerolls are full of absolute beginners and they're attracted to them for the same reason you are, it's an opportunity to win real money without risking anything. Don't worry too much about the J2os players. They aren't too much of a threat and their wins are pretty random, they bust themselves out at light speed after a quick and random hot streak.

Worry instead about the players who play any paint card + anything suited, any two cards that can make a straight, and any two cards that can make a straight or royal flush. The ones who will call pot sized raises and all-in with those, are the ones with potential. Once that strategy starts to fail they'll seek out information and improve as players, but while it's working they're very tough to get a read on. They have potential because they understand what beats what. They're trying, they really are.

A lot of players don't seem to have a handle on that and just seem to think any two cards can win. They're right, but they tend to blind themselves out and worse because they fail to see how difficult it is to make just any two cards win.

The real donkeys are the sore losers and the bad winners. I know we're reminded to be gracious losers but it's just as important to be a gracious winner. Donkey's another word for jackass. And when someone's being a real jerk, what do we normally call them? Yep, we call them a jackass. I don't care if you took down the pot with AA or 72, if you can't do it without gloating, you're a jerk, plain and simple.

 

[crancko]

...and you will be sick in no time! I had exactly $0.60 in my account 6 months ago. You can do it, man, just strive for it!

Used this weekend to delete 400 from my pokerstars account. Vanquish: Where can i pick up that infection? Sounds like i need it...

And the donk debate: Used the donk image seen in my sig on all the sites that will let me. Partly because i play like a drunk transvestite at a Hell Angels meet at times; and partly because it really annoys a certain type of players who really think of themselves as poker gods and co-creators of proper poker playing (at stars micro tournaments...). Its my experience that those players will call me more often in the hope of taking me down - which is nice.

 

[thebiatch22]

i agree not all bad plays are from donk players first off with the free rolls you have to take alot of chance or you wont make it to the final table and i have made some bad plays and have been rewarded as i am sure most have but that dont make me a bad player i have also won a 2700 person tourney while placing 2nd in another 2700 person tourney at the same time so just cause you take a chance and it pays off does not always make you a donk i feel each player should play how he or she feels they want to play