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

[Dara OKearney]

Changing the graphics of the table color and background is great for this too, if the site offers custom options.

Great idea!

 

[Dara OKearney]

I'd just like to say that Dara's book is fantastic

After reading thru it I won not 1, but 2 Venom Sattelites (on my next 2 entries)

First win was in a $95 mega satty paying around 30 seats ($2650 value)

Second win was in a $95 satty paying 13 seats ($2650 value)

The guerilla maths and concepts introduced really are a game changer for this format.

I didn't memorize the exact ranges offered in the book, but having exposed myself to them a few things over gave me the intuitive sense of just how wide I could push in some spots, and just how wide some other regs would be pushing in said spots too.

This was a big lessons for me because i'd always assumed everyone was just playing super tight in satties near the bubble, but there's much more to it than that.

Thanks for putting together a great work Dara, certainly a book that will make many students many monies!!!

P.S. I cashed the Venom for about $8200 on my first entry... pretty good ROI starting from a $90+5 satellite

Thanks Evan, and congratulations!

 

[tzuriel]

Shoving TT in this spot?

Towards the end of the early stage of this Turbo 6max satellite (blinds were 150/300) where Top 3 get a $10 ticket. I am in 4th place and wake up with TT in EP. I make a pretty standard raise and get 3bet by a decent player in the CO. Should I be flatting with TT here or shoving? Should I have raised larger from EP? I assumed I was either a slight favorite in a flip or 4 to1 against a smaller pair.

I shoved and you can see the results below if you would like. Thanks for any advice.

NL Holdem $0.50+$0.05 (300.00BB)
HJ ($9396)
CO ($11916)
BTN ($21362)
SB ($14964)
BB ($2196)
HERO ($20225)

Dealt to Hero: T♦ T♠

HERO Raises To $780, HJ Folds, CO Raises To $2130, BTN Folds, SB Folds, BB Folds, HERO Raises To $20225 (allin), CO Calls $9786 (allin)

Flop ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦

Turn ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦ 8♣

River ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦ 8♣ 8♠

Spoiler

CO shows: J♣ A♣

CO wins: $24402

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara,

I enjoyed your recent appearance on Chasing Poker Greatness. In particular well done on nicely navigating your explanation of the conflict in Northern Ireland! I only recently got to enjoy playing PKOs after reading the book as my online poker options are limited. A few questions if you don't mind:

1. Ignition/Bovada just started spreading PKOs- bounty is usually 1/3 or 1/4 of the buy in eg $30 buy in with a $10 bounty or $125 buy in with a $25 bounty. How much lower should our Bounty Discount be roughly? With the 1/4 bounty in particular, at what Bounty Factor would our ranges be affected?
2. Re bankroll management in PKOs do similar rules apply as normal MTTs? Do the increased variance and bounties earned essentially cancel each other out?
3. Any specific differences in play I should consider on the predominantly 6 max Winamax PKOs? They play pretty wild and I haven't had quite the success I had imagined so far with deep runs, often finding myself priced in with multi way pots.

Hi,

Thanks for your kind comments about my CPG appearance.

To answer your questions:
1. As a very rough approximation, divide the bounty factor by the ratio of bounty to normal (in other words, if the bounty is only quarter the buyin as opposed to half (normal), divide bounty factor by 2) and then use the normal bounty factor to discount conversion
2. I don't know for sure but I think they almost cancel out, but PKOs are slightly less variance. That's just an educated hunch though
3. The multiway pots means some hands lose value (unsuited aces and broadways) while other hands gain value (suited aces, JTs) so make appropriate changes to preflop ranges

Thanks for you questions!

 

[ribbybruno]

Great book! Enjoyed the read! I try and retweet most of your posts I see on social media. Well done on the hard road to success!

How do you keep yourself from punting a tournament online when you become unfocused? I start out roaring to go but sometimes distant 3 hours later. How do you keep your mind on the right track?

 

[balo]

What a great question!

After some head scratching here is what I came up with:
(1) In the beginning spend at least as much time studying as you do playing. Consume all the free content you can and if you can afford it buy some good training content and solvers
(2) Game selection is vital. Find games you can beat by enough to make it a realistic goal. There's no point picking a format where the best players in the world are making 1c a game unless you can play 50,000 of them in a month
(3) Don't go the staked route unless you have no other option. If you're a winning player, giving up to 50% of your profits away to a backer makes no sense long term
(4) Bankroll management is also vital
(5) Don't underestimate the importance of a strong mental game. Variance is the thing that makes poker both profitable and difficult long term. It's easy to maintain good habits and discipline and play your A game when you're running well, but you need to be able to maintain high standards when it's not going well

Thanks for your great question!

Good guidelines to follow.

Regarding staking, I see you are an active player on GG Poker, and allowing staking up to a certain percentage. With markup. How does that work and do you recommend it?

 

[mateuszjason]

Hi Dara im proud that im part of community when so tallented poker player is here.
ive got a question how much of % hands you will open from early position's ? and how % of hands will open from late position ?

cheers, i used to playing a satelite to sunday milion on PS i plaeyd a satelite for5,5 $ ive won a ticket a couple of times, but gennerally im very clse to bubble, about 20 times i end satelite on bubble, that was horrible.

 

[Dara OKearney]

What's your secret in one sentence?

Hard work and persistence

 

[Dara OKearney]

Was playing in a satellite, on the bubble, 1 more person needed to be knocked out for the rest to get a ticket. I was in the BB as the second largest stack. A short stack went all in, then the shortest stack also went all in, and the largest stack called. Last to act in the big blind, I open folded AA and the entire table basically went nuts on me, saying I was wrong to do so. Was I? The only way the tourney continues is if the short stack wins, and if the short stack won the next shortest stack would have been under 2 BBs, and I didn't want to take the chance that the big stack would beat me when I had very little chance of not cashing by playing passively.

You absolutely made the correct fold. Your aces will get cracked by the large stack 10-25% of the time depending on his hand, this is a risk you'd be crazy to take when you're basically locked up. This is a concept surprisingly few people understand: that's why we put a photo of someone folding Aces on the cover of Poker Satellite Strategy (to get across the message it's often correct in a satellite).

Well played!

 

[pokerdutchie]

Hi Dara,

Congratulations on the ambassadorship at Cardschat.

I've just a few questions that pertain to the future and profitability of sattelites.
Personally, I enjoy playing sattelites more than any other type of tournament.
After correcting a few of my habits in sattelites I started winning more consistently thanks to your book.

However whenever I speak to other poker players and professionals about my investment
in the sattelite format they all respond in a disapproving manner. They consider playing/studying sattelites a waste of time if you want to be profitable in the long run. They think improving at regular MTT's is better. Once i've been told that not enough players are profitable enough in sattelites to warrant the investment required to become good at them.

So my questions are:
1) What is your opinion on the disapproving reactions to sattelites?
2) Do you think that it's still worth it or profitable enough to specialize in sattelites for the next 5 years?

Second thing i'm also struggling with is that i've become better than I was in sattelites but I usually play microstakes(up to $5). Sometimes I win a ticket for mid or highstakes and feel uncomfortable at the tables. I think this feeling stems from the tension of playing way above my stakes and just players being better than me overall. What is your advice on dealing with winning target tournaments that are above usual stakes? Should I adjust the sattelites I play to target tournaments i'm more comfortable with or should I still try and take some shots often at the sattelites for mid/highstakes tournaments?

I do recognize that the whole point of sattelites is get into bigger buyin tournaments for a fraction of the price but an argument could also be made that playing sattelites for tournaments one has no or little experience in is not a fruitful venture.

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara.
Thank you for doing this. Quick question: how many tables do you play at once? Personally, I find it really difficult to do more than two, and one is probably best for me. Otherwise I find that I make too many errors and don’t get the feel for the players if I’m scattered all over the place. Notes help, but there’s only so much you can jot down.

All the best

I play 12-14 tables usually these days. It's personal as to how many is optimal, and it's also something most of us can improve with practise.

When I started, I only played 2 tables at a time, and found that quite difficult, but over time I found I was able to add more and more. At one time in my career, I regularly played 24-30 tables, but in recent years I've reduced it for a number of reasons (the main one is more sites don't allow HUDs any more meaning I have to pay closer attention to how other players are playing rather than relying on the HUD for that information). There's a sweet spot you don't want to go past before your performance on each table starts deteriorating. In my opinion, most players try to play too many tables. That's certainly been my experience with students I coach: usually their results improve dramatically if they play a few less tables.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Inquiring twitter minds want to know.....
https://twitter.com/padraigpoker/status/1418525446208167937?s=20

LOL, I'm colour blind so that kind of limits the options

 

[Dara OKearney]

Towards the end of the early stage of this Turbo 6max satellite (blinds were 150/300) where Top 3 get a $10 ticket. I am in 4th place and wake up with TT in EP. I make a pretty standard raise and get 3bet by a decent player in the CO. Should I be flatting with TT here or shoving? Should I have raised larger from EP? I assumed I was either a slight favorite in a flip or 4 to1 against a smaller pair.

I shoved and you can see the results below if you would like. Thanks for any advice.

NL Holdem $0.50+$0.05 (300.00BB)
HJ ($9396)
CO ($11916)
BTN ($21362)
SB ($14964)
BB ($2196)
HERO ($20225)

Dealt to Hero: T♦ T♠

HERO Raises To $780, HJ Folds, CO Raises To $2130, BTN Folds, SB Folds, BB Folds, HERO Raises To $20225 (allin), CO Calls $9786 (allin)

Flop ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦

Turn ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦ 8♣

River ($32711): 8♥ 4♣ A♦ 8♣ 8♠

Spoiler

CO shows: J♣ A♣

CO wins: $24402

Interesting spot. With the usual caveats that it depends on how opponents are playing, here are my thoughts
(1) Open size is fine, I wouldn't go bigger
(2) I'd flat the 3bet rather than shoving. Shoving is basically closing your eyes and hoping he doesn't have a hand in a spot where you're not blocking his continues. In this spot he should be 3 betting very tight against a UTG open, something like TT+, AQ, KQs, AJs. Against that range at this point in a satellite I'd only shove Aces and AKs for value and throw in something like A5s as a bluff, but I'd flat most of what I've opened (except easily dominated hands)

In passing, it's worth noting that his call off is horrendous, which actually makes our shove worse if we know he's that bad (we really want our shove to get through and if he's calling off wider than he should it won't often enough)

Thanks for your question!

 

[gon4iypes]

Hey Dara, Please would you tell me how to get your book on PKO. Thanks much, David

 

[LetterRip]

Hey Dara, Please would you tell me how to get your book on PKO. Thanks much, David

It is available on amazon,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BPH5XT1

 

[Dara OKearney]

Great book! Enjoyed the read! I try and retweet most of your posts I see on social media. Well done on the hard road to success!

How do you keep yourself from punting a tournament online when you become unfocused? I start out roaring to go but sometimes distant 3 hours later. How do you keep your mind on the right track?

Thanks for the support and the retweets!

It isn't always easy to stay focused but I try to make sure I start the session in the right mindset (mental warmup), be prepared for setbacks and ready to not react badly to them, and constantly remind myself that my job or objective isn't to win tournaments or money, but simply to make each decision to the best of my ability. I have a mantra I repeat to myself any time I feel my focus mood or motivation slipping, which is simple "begin again", a mental reminder to reset and just take the next decision as if it were the first of the session.

 

[Dara OKearney]

Good guidelines to follow.

Regarding staking, I see you are an active player on GG Poker, and allowing staking up to a certain percentage. With markup. How does that work and do you recommend it?

It's a very good idea as the software handles everything automatically. One of the traditional hassles with staking is the transfers. This does everything automatically: if you buy a piece of a player the money is automatically transferred to them, and if they cash your share of the winnings are automatically sent back. If the player withdraws before the tournament starts, the money is automatically sent back.

I recommend it from both angles. If you want to buy a sweat of someone, it's a good safe way to buy it, or if you're a player who wants to sell for whatever reason (variance reduction, to give friends or followers a chance to buy a sweat or whatever) I also recommend it.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara im proud that im part of community when so tallented poker player is here.
ive got a question how much of % hands you will open from early position's ? and how % of hands will open from late position ?

cheers, i used to playing a satelite to sunday milion on PS i plaeyd a satelite for5,5 $ ive won a ticket a couple of times, but gennerally im very clse to bubble, about 20 times i end satelite on bubble, that was horrible.

It depends on stack sizes and other factors, but generally I open 15-20% of hands in early position, and 40-55% in late position. If you want to learn good opening ranges, I strongly recommend the RangeTrainerPro App.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara,

Congratulations on the ambassadorship at Cardschat.

I've just a few questions that pertain to the future and profitability of sattelites.
Personally, I enjoy playing sattelites more than any other type of tournament.
After correcting a few of my habits in sattelites I started winning more consistently thanks to your book.

However whenever I speak to other poker players and professionals about my investment
in the sattelite format they all respond in a disapproving manner. They consider playing/studying sattelites a waste of time if you want to be profitable in the long run. They think improving at regular MTT's is better. Once i've been told that not enough players are profitable enough in sattelites to warrant the investment required to become good at them.

So my questions are:
1) What is your opinion on the disapproving reactions to sattelites?
2) Do you think that it's still worth it or profitable enough to specialize in sattelites for the next 5 years?

Second thing i'm also struggling with is that i've become better than I was in sattelites but I usually play microstakes(up to $5). Sometimes I win a ticket for mid or highstakes and feel uncomfortable at the tables. I think this feeling stems from the tension of playing way above my stakes and just players being better than me overall. What is your advice on dealing with winning target tournaments that are above usual stakes? Should I adjust the sattelites I play to target tournaments i'm more comfortable with or should I still try and take some shots often at the sattelites for mid/highstakes tournaments?

I do recognize that the whole point of sattelites is get into bigger buyin tournaments for a fraction of the price but an argument could also be made that playing sattelites for tournaments one has no or little experience in is not a fruitful venture.

Hi PokerDutchie!

On the disapproving attitude, that's always been there, and in fact was more prevalent 10-15 years ago when almost no regs grinded satellites. As someone who has made 8 figures in profit in satellites, I obviously disagree with it. There's two aspects to this: some people believe that while satellites are profitable they can't be beaten by much. This is completely false: the edges can be quite massive if you're people who are playing satellites like a "normal" tournament. The second charge often made is they somehow "ruin" your normal mtt game. Again I strongly disagree, and I suspect Stephen Chidwick, Tom Hall, Jack Salter and other beasts who specialised in satellites at one point in their career do too. Obviously it wouldn't be a good idea to play a normal mtt exactly the same as a satellite, but just because you're good at satellites doesn't mean you can't make the necessary adjustments to be good at normal mtts. In fact, I would argue that the ICM skills you learn in satellites are vital in normal mtts and explain why those names I mentioned went on to crush normal tourneys. I expand on my thinking on this in this blog.

I think satellites are good right now: there are a lot of good recent developments like Stars bringing back t money.

The main thing I would say about bigger buyin tournaments is when you do play them, don't level yourself into thinking that they're substantially different from a normal tournament and that the players are much better than you. Trust me: most of them aren't. It's a personal decision at the end of the day but I think taking shots at bigger tournaments via satellites is good for your development.

Thanks for your questions, and good luck!

 

[mateuszjason]

It depends on stack sizes and other factors, but generally I open 15-20% of hands in early position, and 40-55% in late position. If you want to learn good opening ranges, I strongly recommend the RangeTrainerPro app.

Thanks for your question!

Thank You for awnswer, i need to check that app.

I forgotten ask one thing. If someone with stack from 5 to 15 bb jams pre flop what hands or range i call his jam ?

From my expierence i calling all in with hands 99,1010,JJ,QQ,KK,AA, AK,AQ,AJ suited and A10 Suited.

if is ok ? or to wide

 

[aissam18]

What's the strategy for satellites and Ko's

 

[saintsfangirl]

Sattys

Hi Cardschat,

I am Dara O’Kearney, known as Doke online. I am an Irish poker professional tournament player, with over $1 million in live earnings and more than $3 million in online MTTs, not to mention 8 PocketFives Triple Crowns.

I am perhaps best known for being a satellite specialist. I have won over $1 million in online satellites alone and have just written a new book on this subject called Poker Satellite Strategy:

Away from the tables I am the co-host of the Global Poker Award winning Chip Race Podcast and sponsored by Unibet Poker. Prior to poker I was an ultra marathon runner

Cardschat have kindly agreed to let me do an Ask Me Anything thread where you can ask me anything at all about satellites and tournament strategy. This will be on an ongoing basis, I’ll be checking in most weeks starting this one to answer your questions and to begin with I will be around tomorrow to answer the first batch.

Also this month I will give a free copy of my book on Apple iBooks to my favourite question, once a week for the next four weeks.

AMA


Dara

Dara!
I have a pretty good tournament player but struggle sometimes and satellites.
I met you at the Irish poker open and I think I saw you again in Vegas but I really didn't get to pick your brain about the one most important skill to have in these satellites.
Can you enlighten me please?
Thanks Chris Read

 

[mattiebumpo]

Structure for satellites

Do you have any tips on evaluating the structure of a satellite to know if it is a good value/opportunity?

Hi Dara, My friend won her entry into the wsop Main Event through a home league. Do you think she should late register on Day 2 rather than play starting Day 1? If yes, should she register as late as possible on Day 2? Thanks!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara,

WSOP Circuit $250 satellites to $1,700 Main Events have a considerably slower structure than other satellites. It can take several hours to get to the seats. Would you recommend using a more typical (MTT style) gameplan for the early to mid stages than in a more ordinary satellite structure?

Hi,

Very interesting question. Actually the slower the structure the more you want to deviate from normal mtt strategy. Remember in a normal mtt you're ideally hoping to win all the chips so you get first prize, which means you're incentivised to take almost any spot that will win you chips in the long run (the only exception being when ICM is a major factor such as on the money bubble). In a satellite, you're only trying to accumulate enough chips to still be alive when the seats are awarded, which means you're not incentivised to take big risks that are only marginally plus chipEv (instead you're just trying to get to the target stack taking as few risks as possible). You don't want to overdo this of course: in a very fast structured satellite if you keep passing profitable soppots because they're not profitable enough, then you may run out of time and spots. But in a slower structure you can be a lot more patient.

Thanks for your question!

 

[belladonna05]

Greetings Dara, a serious question this time
I played a WSOP satellite for the first time at my local spot last night.
It's a 9 person sng with a starting stack of 3k and half hour levels. There are usually 3 tables and the winner from each table advances to a final sng when they get a total of 9 winners from the satellites to play for a WSOPME package. An interesting twist is the table starts with 10 stacks with only 9 players. If someone buys that stack after getting knocked out, the 2nd place at the table gets their next entry paid for.
I played semi tight as I didn't really get a lot of playable hands the first couple of hours, got a few cbets and steals in. I was sitting at 3.5 k with the blinds at 400 after 2.5 hours of play and 5 players left. 2 of the players had a stack about my size. The other 2 had accumulated most the chips. I started shoving any A or faces with no opens at that point. Is that the right strategy or should I still play a tighter game and hope the other 2 stacks get knocked out before I do? Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.