Am I doing it right.. i.e not donking it

Ok initially I'd be uber tight.. only play prem hands like a,k to a,10 or the similar though like k,q,k,j etc.. in lives games especially this would piss me off as most people know exactly when I enter a pot.. i must have a good hand..

So I mixed it up and opened my range a bit and really depending on alot of thing but for example.. if I had a jack,, lowest kicker I'd go is 8, Q,9 k,8 a,10.. there are exceptions like if they are suited. then kicker comes irrelevant aslong as it ain't too low..

I even raise with connectors at times and suited connectors.... this has been my game plan for 2 weeks now..

Thing is that in my live games I am consistently in the money or thereabouts.. more so than anyone else and yet theres this one dude who calls me a donk..

I find it hard to understand on how one can be a donk if hes consistent a donk can only get you so far.. ya know..

Situations I've been called a donk are the following,,

I'm in early to mid position someone calls all in preflop.. I had a,q and was aiming to limp in with it but decided to call him we were about even if anything me bout another half a stack ahead.. he had PP of 6's and said I was a donk to call it and said I was lucky.

This other time.. blinds were 1200,2400 or something anyways... I was shortstacked and knew I needed a hand to go all in with... finally a hand came it wasn't the best but not the worst either.. a Q,9 suited.. person called me a,q.. I managed to dodge the q and ace and managed to get a 9 on the turn and double up...

I don't think either were 'bad plays' a couple have said its hard to put me on a hand as I go in with practicly anything that is so untrue and imo, an exageration.. yes I have opened my range and hands I may go in with or not one minute may be different the next but its all part of my stategy to keep em guessing.

Also there are times when I go in with low cards so when it comes to me I do a big raise... in my eyes its the right thing to do whats the point of slow playing with a low pair if only to have an ace or high card come on the turn and royally **** your pair? I've done this a few times and get the response.. is it cause you don't know what to do.

Sounds to me like your opponents are frustrated at playing against someone who is less predictable, and who will play aggressively enough to crack what they believe are always winning hands that should never lose. If you're getting them to go on tilt, then all the better for you; just don't let them get to you!

It also sounds to me like they are trying to shake you off of your game since you seem to be having some success with your current strategy. Essentially, don't pay attention to them. If your strategy is working for you, then keep on improving. Never forget to continually evaluate your strategy, and develop your reading skills with that aggressive strategy, identifying leaks and the situations where you are getting trapped; knowing when to fold is key to playing aggressively, something I'm still working on

Good luck to you!

Eclipsenz said:

Thing is that in my live games I am consistently in the money or thereabouts.. more so than anyone else and yet theres this one dude who calls me a donk..

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I'm overall a winning player, and I get called a donk quite a bit. People are usually too stupid to realize that they have left you correct implied odds to hit draws that aren't obvious with hands that aren't obvious.

I usually just agree with them, that I'm a huge donkey, but I needle them by telling them that I get lucky 'a lot.' Then I rake my huge pot.

It sounds like you are on the road to selective aggression by widening your hand range, but be sure that when you do, you are in best position at the table. Playing K8x under the gun is horrible, but I'll occasionally raise an unopened pot with it on the button

I'm sure that Gus Hanson got called a donkey quite a bit too...

Cheers guys and yeah I agree with what has been said in both saids and yeah I would never ever go with K,8 UTG thats just silly.. I have to agree with selective aggression cause there would be times, this is when we were down to the final 6, people would be like after alots in the pot, go all in, go all in, etc.. I kept on saying no its not right 2-3 hands later I eliminate 2-3 people just like that when I'm more confident with my all in after the flop.

I dunno I suck at cash games though simply cause I can't play my natural game.. I dunno maybe its a mental thing but I feel way to restricted as losing money each hand really makes me chicken out outta pots especially if I ain't got the best card. I dunno maybe with experience I'll get better but with just a little over 2 months on my belt I'm still an 'amateur' that maybe but an amateur whi is learning the ropes fast I might add

i dunno we'll see how I go this weekend

Nothing wrong with your play except maybe your call with AQ to an allin. I assume it was offsuit and you were not shortstacked. AQ and even AK is still a drawing hand and you are still an underdog to any pocket pair. In my opinion it is better to raise with these hands and call standard raises in position. With someone allin i would rather fold and wait for a better spot.

I wouldn't worry to much about what people are saying in chat. Just today a guy called me a donk in a tourney. I was chip leader on the table and had AA. I raised about 4xBB and it folded to the SB who called. Flop was 2,6,J rainbow. He pushes all in and I called. He had 93o called me a donk, lost and called me a donk again. Well, actually a lot of people called me a donk today but there is nothing unussual about that. I find that I have the best of it about 90% of the time when the money goes in and almost every time my hand stands up I am called a donk. Sounds like you have a plan and you are seeing results. You also seem to be recognizing where your opportunities are and working to improve so pay no mind to the sore losers.

Eclipsenz said:

I dunno I suck at cash games though simply cause I can't play my natural game.. I dunno maybe its a mental thing but I feel way to restricted as losing money each hand really makes me chicken out outta pots especially if I ain't got the best card.

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It sounds to me like whatever limit you are playing at is making you play scared. If you can step down in limits, do so. In order to do well in cash games, you have to feel apathetic about your bankroll. That doesn't mean you are trying to give it away, but if you get it in with the best of it, and get unlucky, you aren't going to vomit. If you are already playing the lowest limits available to you, and you still feel uneasy about losing the money you brought, maybe you are underbankrolled, or just need experience to get over the anxiety.

yeah this was live cash game with mates where we top up with whatever.. I was down 20 bucks that night.. I think the experience, playing scared, and anxiety is bang on the money though.

lol, well done, you are not a donk... simple as that

Tublecain said:

Sounds to me like your opponents are frustrated at playing against someone who is less predictable, and who will play aggressively enough to crack what they believe are always winning hands that should never lose. If you're getting them to go on tilt, then all the better for you; just don't let them get to you!

It also sounds to me like they are trying to shake you off of your game since you seem to be having some success with your current strategy. Essentially, don't pay attention to them. If your strategy is working for you, then keep on improving. Never forget to continually evaluate your strategy, and develop your reading skills with that aggressive strategy, identifying leaks and the situations where you are getting trapped; knowing when to fold is key to playing aggressively, something I'm still working on

Good luck to you!

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Yep, although my only advice on top of what's been said is when you open your range you have to be ultra disciplined with the fold button when you think you're behind or dominated, @ The guy who criticised your Q9 push. I am a firm believer when pushing from the short stack if you don't push with a pair to push with most likely 2 live cards should a call come... you have fold equity aswell (unless your mega short stacked). I'd sooner push Q9 than A4 say, all regards the range of hands you're gonna be called with imo. I don't know if that's an unorthodox opinion!

Good luck!

:up: Yeah missed that, gonna get into trouble post flop with those hands

sorry but its the first thing i read. i tried to quote him but F'd it up lol.

anyways only way you should be playing those hands is if your last to act and are not facing any raises...but even then...i dunno..seem to be alot safer when i fold these type of hands

I wouldn't say they are bad hands no. I'd l I wouldn't ig limp in/see a cheap flop with em but I would fold em just as fast if a big raise came.. I believe you shouldn't just stick to A,K, AQ as raising hands only and such.. expand a little. KJ is not the best but iits not bad either.