Dara O'Kearney (Satellite Specialist) - Ask Me Anything about satellites/knockouts

[mattiebumpo]

Hi Dara, What was your favorite event to play at the wsop this year?

 

[nasty bent gorilla]

Do you have any tips for pot limit holdem tournaments; Is the strategy much different to no limit games?

Thanks

 

[OutFocusMetal]

Hi Dara,

A casino in London is running a 'cashout' style satellite, whereby you can win a seat both by the usual way of finishing ITM, but also by accumulating over a set amount of chips (they don't share this online but I'm assuming is way above the average required to be ITM).

How does this impact satellite strategy? Both in terms of chasing a big stack, but also because every 'cashout' win removes a potential seat from the prize pool and also increases the average required for ITM.

 

[Chica_bonita]

Hello, Dara.
You recently presented your books about GTO. It really looks interesting, but I wanted to clarify: how accessible are your books to readers from different countries? I don't mean the cost, I mean the language of reading (in my case, I mean Russian).

 

[seiya1989]

Hello Dara how are you? Congratulations on your achievements on satellites
My question is, is it more profitable to play aggressively or passively on satellites? Greetings from argentina

 

[gon4iypes]

Hey Dara......how did the WSOP end up for you? I would love to hear of your experiences !!! Regards, David

 

[Natta777]

Good afternoon. Tell me, please, do you continue to run now? Do you go for morning runs or workouts in the gym? I have been running for a long time, participated in competitions. But as soon as I left, now I can’t bring myself to even go for a morning run

 

[telespf]

Hi Dara,

What type of poker do you prefer? What like play others modal, or only Holdem No Limit?

And what you oppinion about the cash game?

 

[seiya1989]

Hello Dara what was the most exciting tournament you have played?

 

[istbno]

When you take a decision to call several pushes in knockout tourney should you count bounties as equivalent of big blinds?

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara, how are you?

The question is, what is the main difference between, for example, playing a satellite MTT and an MTT, for example, Bounty Builder???

Thank you

Carlos from Argentina

Hi Carlos,

In satellites that award more than one prize, the goal is to survive, meaning you should play a cautious tight style that prioritizes survival rather than chip accumulation.

In bounty builders the goal is to be in a position to win as many bounties as possible. To do this you need to accumulate chips to cover people at your table, so the goal is accumulation rathe than survival and you should play a loose style and be more willing to gamble!

Thanks for your question and good luck!

 

[Dara OKearney]

I have read most of your responses, I also love playing satellites, but I feel there are some unforgivable flaws in my playing.

There are several types of satellites, some in the MTT style, others SNG, some 16 player shotouts, some are hyper, others regular. Which ones do you think are the coolest to play and which ones are the most profitable for you?

Interesting question: formats are something most people don’t consider often enough, but they are vital to your win rate. If you understand the strategies and concepts outlined in “Poker Satellite Strategy” there are theee major factors that will determine how mighty our win rate can be:
1. How many prizes are awarded. The more the better. You’ll have a much bigger edge in a satellite with 20 seats than one with 2
2. Speed and structure. Higher win rates are possible in slow structured events with deep starting stacks than hypers with shallow stacks
3. Strength of opposition. Sometimes I’ll play poorly structured hypers with only 2 or 3 players because they contain a lot of weak players playing them very badly

Thanks for your question and good luck!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara, looking at the WSOP 2023 satellite structures, some are 10 minute levels and some are 20 minute levels. Of course the 20 minute levels are preferable, but are the 10 minute level events even worth trying?

Sorry I’m answering this too late for this year (was swamped at WSOP) but this ties in with my answer to the last question: they can be worth playing if the field is very soft (which is generally the case at the WSOP)

Good luck for next year!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara, I hope you are doing well.

I would like to have an idea about the bankroll management for playing satellites.

We know that to play MTTs, we need at least 100 buy-ins, but to play satellites I think that a minimum of 100 buy-ins is not enough because we are not always qualified for the final tournament.

My question: how many buy-ins do you need to have at least to play the satellites ?

Thank you.

In theory you need whatever number of buyins you need for the tournament you’re trying to qualify for. So if you’re playing a $10 satellite to a $100 that you would need a bankroll of $10,000 to play then you need a bankroll of $10,000

In practise you can reduce this by selling or swapping pieces when you do satellite in.

Thanks for your question!

 

[jonaselloco]

Hi Carlos,

In satellites that award more than one prize, the goal is to survive, meaning you should play a cautious tight style that prioritizes survival rather than chip accumulation.

In bounty builders the goal is to be in a position to win as many bounties as possible. To do this you need to accumulate chips to cover people at your table, so the goal is accumulation rathe than survival and you should play a loose style and be more willing to gamble!

Thanks for your question and good luck!

Thanks brother for your answer
A hug
Carlos from Bahia Blanca - Argentina

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara,

Is your book Poker Satellite Strategy available to buy in Easter Europe? I did not find it in any Romanian sites, and I don't know from where to buy it so that it can be shipped to Romania.

Thanks

Hi,

Here a definitive list of where the book is svailsble


I don’t know which of those ship to Romania. If you can’t find one message me and I’ll arrange for Barry to ship one from the UK.

Good luck!

 

[Dara OKearney]

What speed do you like to play a hyper, turbo or slow satellite?

Slow! High win rates

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara, can you tell me if you follow at someone professional player poker and what you learn from him/her.
Thanks for your reply.

Phil Galfond is a very good follow on Twitter for mindset and theory.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi, is it better to play tight or not in knockout tournaments?

Loose! You need to cover other players to be able to compete for the bounties

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello, Dara.
I had this question: often when we play , we see the following picture: the closer we are to ITM, the slower the game becomes. It seems that participants with a low stack are dragging their time as much as possible so that they can get into the prize zone. Do you think this is normal or could it be offensive to other players? Can such behavior be regarded as fraud?

And, in general, what do you think about how a player can manage the time that he is given for a turn? Does he have the right to deliberately play as slowly as possible if it is in his interests and is there any vowel or unspoken rules of etiquette about this?

That’s a really tricky one! Stalling as it’s referred to is indeed a part of tournament play. It’s actually against the rules but it’s a difficult one to enforce as it’s impossible to tell the difference between actual tanking (difficult decision) and fake tanking (trying to run down the clock for a pay jump).

To complicate matters further, there are cultural differences between what’s generally considered acceptable in different countries. There’s very little patience in the US and it’s not unusual to see clock being called pretty quickly whereas where I come from (ireland) there’s generally a more relaxed attitude. At the WSOP this year I saw some very aggressive clock calls (after less than a minute) and enforcements by TDS.

Some organisers try to get around the problem by introducing shot clocks that give everyone thirty seconds on every decision, but in my experience that can be counterproductive if it means everyone now takes the full 30 seconds every time.

Two final points:
If you have a genuine decision take as much time as you need and don’t feel intimidated by the impatience of others.
And…
If others are stalling and it’s in your interests to do so, not doing so will cost you equity and gain them equity. In that case I think you’re perfectly entitled to stall.

Thanks for a fascinating question!

 

[AKQ]

How do you prefer to calculate/USE the formula for the Perfect GTO bluff Frequency

Do you lean towards true frequency,
Or the Pot odds frequency formula?

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara, a pleasure first of all to be able to share and read your advice.

Are you a player who firmly follows the tables when it comes to opening, raising, when to fold, when to push all in according to the amount of BBS? My question is due to the fact that in my case there are times when I do what these tables say, but I lose due to bad luck, etc, etc. thank you so much

Interesting question!

For the most part I stick to charts and tables but not religiously. For example if the table is playing tight in my opinion I might go a bit wider than the tables say.

When you’re going through a period of bad luck, try not to let it affect your play. That’s the time you need to be sticking to basic fundamental sound strategy rather than playing too loose because you’re chasing or too tight because the bad variance is beating you down. The variance will balance out in the long run!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara, I have a question about knockouts: I understand people tend to play more aggressively to earn bountys, but is that the best way to play this type of game? Should I have a more passive strategy?

Thank you in advance

Overall, it is correct to play bounties.looser and more aggressively with some quirks. When you cover other players in a hand you should always be more aggressive to try to win their bounty. When you already have a big stack, say, covering everyone at the table, you should be a little more cautious in close spots to preserve that favourable situation rather than risk losing it. Short stacked you should be looking to double up but your strategy also changes since you’ll be called wider, so stay away from hands that will be behind mediocre hands that call (low suited connectors) ut shove more mediocre high card hands that will be ahead. If we are getting called by hands like T8o because of our bounty, J4s is a better shove than 54s or 87s.

Thanks for your question and good luck!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara !
I'm interested in a knockout tournament Is it worth registering for these tournaments after registration (late registration) eg late registration 60 minutes! after 30 minutes of playing.. should i register ?

The general advice is to never late reg knockouts. Every player who has already been eliminated when you late reg represents a portion of the prize pool you can’t win. This might not represent too much of the pool if not many people have already been eliminated so it might not be terrible to late reg, but if a significant number has, then you’re effectively swimming up stream from the start paying very high rake.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Dara OKearney]

I love to play low-mid tournaments and sometimes join the satellite just to save some bucks, but that's not how it happens most of the time. I even spend more money on joining a satellite than the real cost of the buy-in for one tournament.

What is your way to determine that it's no longer profitable to join a tournament?

E.g. $55 Tournament with a satellite of SnG $7.50 2 seats out of 16 players. X=?

I consider a satellite and the target tournament to be two stand alone tournaments. One is a $7.50 that pays pout $55 tickets, and the other is a normal 55 with a normal payout pool. So long as I consider both to be profitable in their own right I’ll continue to play. I have on occasion paid more satellite entries than the entry of the target tournament.

Thanks for your question and good luck!