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

[Arnakk2424]

Hello Dara
I'm currently reading the satellite book at the moment.
I really got good result satellite into multiple event of the $25 micro stacks event on GGPoker but for some reasons GG poker sadly decide to give ticket and no longer seat for the event. 100% of the $1 and $2.50 had overlay with seat guarantee.
I don't know if you have thinked about it before but when its 1 table or 2 tables I'm stalling because i don't want peoples to rebuy just before the latereg/rebuy to have a bigger overlay. What you think about it ?

 

[P1R35]

@Dara OKearney hello.

I had a broad question abutting preflop short stack play.

1. Whats the smallest stack you got non all-in preflop opens?
For example, with 20bb you will open raise 2bb from all positions but go all-in only form late positions like BU/SB.
2. So let’s say you got 10bb, how will look your strategy? Do you have opens with non all-in sizing?
3. How important it will be to have bluffs in this 10bb 2bb open range/be balanced?
4. How much EV we can loose if we got only all-in sizing with stack <15bb?
4. What your range looks like from UTG (8handed) with 15bb?
What hands you go all-in with? What hands you open 2bb?

 

[CadoARAJ]

I don't. We have absolutely no control over what price Amazon charge beyond setting the maximum, but I believe they regularly drop the price down in periods where they believe doing so will increase sales.

Thanks for your question!

Nice reading book. Congrats and keep writing.

 

[Dara OKearney]

Really enjoyed your most recent book - would recommend anyone who plays tournaments to get it.

Any idea when the second part of your ICM focus will come out?

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

It's gonna be at least a year before our second book on ICM (focusing on postflop) comes out as we got sidetracked on another book first (which should be ready in a few months). Thanks for your interest!

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara,

I hope you are well. I’m fairly new to Poker but have all three of your poker strategy books and they have been a big help.

I have a few questions on certain situations.

1) Consolation prizes:

I like to play satellites to PKOs. On occassion the satellite pays out x number of seats plus one cash consolation.

In this scenario, I sometimes find myself calculating the number of (starting) bounties that the consolation prize is worth and deciding whether to deliberately settle for that.

Have you ever targeted consolation prizes, and do you think it is worthwhile?

2) Blind out or bust?

Scenario: you are the shortest stack with 1 satellite seat left and you in the blinds.

Stack size: 1.2 BB

Ante: 0.2BB

I have been in this situation and folded junk, leaving only 1 ante. Sometimes it has worked out and I've won a seat. Other times my (folded) junk hands would have won the pot.

What range would you play in this situation (1.2 BB stack and in the blinds) given that you will blind out in one orbit. Do you ever fold leaving just an ante?

3) Day 2 tournaments

Some online MTTs have 2 Day formats where your stack is carried over to the main tournament (Day 2).

To me they feel a bit like a satellite in that you can check the Day 2 lobby and see what the average stack is. This becomes a target of sorts to calculate your chance of cashing as you will be almost in the money once you reach Day 2.

However, this can result in my play being quite passive. How do you approach these formats?

Hi,

Thanks for your kind comment, it's great to hear all three books helped you. Also very interesting questions:
(1) When there are consolation prizes, they are always a consideration. How big depends on how big they are and how many of them there are. Two examples to illustrate:
Example 1: A satellite to a 1K with 1 ticket and 4 consolation prizes worth 215 each
In this case the consolation prizes are very important (almost half the total prize pool) and this plays almost like a satellite with 5 equal prizes until there are 5 left (after which it plays like a winner takes all tournament)
Example 2: Same satellite but with 4 tickets and 1 consolation prize
In this case the consolation prize is of little importance (only about 5% of the total prize pool) so you should ignore it until there are 6 or 7 left. Then it has some importance but still not much

(2) This is very situational but mostly boils down to how likely it is the bubble will go this hand (when you are bb) and this orbit. If it's very likely to go this hand (because other players are short or all in on other tables) then you should call off very tight. Whether you win this hand or next males little difference: in either case you have one more orbit before you'll be forced all in on the blinds again. So if there's a decent chance the bubble will go this hand, you might as well fold your bb and allow that to potentially happen. If you think the bubble is unlikely to go this hand but very likely to go in the next orbit (because one or more other players are likely to be forced all in during it) then your priority is to survive another orbit, so your strategy is to do whatever maximises your chances of doing that. Since it makes no difference whether you win this hand or the next one as small blind, that usually means calling off any above average hand in the next big blind. If you think the bubble is unlikely to go next orbit (because you are by far the shortest and the other shorties are waiting for you to double or bust) then you should call off any two in the bb because of the price you're getting.

(3) These phase tournaments as they are called are not really satellites, they're just normal tournaments where the money bubble comes early on day 2. This means you start to adjust significantly for ICM in the ways described in "Endgame poker strategy", but not as dramatically as described in "Poker Satellite Strategy". Playing normal tournaments like satellites will give you a very high In The Money percentage but will cost you money in the long run. The player I know who has the highest ITM percentage I've ever seen (a former study buddy of mine) is nevertheless a fairly significant lifetime loser both live and online because her style results in a lot of min cashes but very few big scores.

 

[Dara OKearney]

Thanks a lot Dara for providing your valued guidance.I have a question :Sometimes close to bubble in satellites ,where only 2-3% make the cut, even if i am 20Bb deep due to large BB structure the stack quickly erodes because everybody tightens up.What would be the best ranges to play in this scenario?I have seen mostly people shove only JJ+ and it really boils down to a coin flip specially if I am running card dead for some time

Hi,

This is one of the trickiest situations in satellites and the answer very much depends on the other players' tendencies, but as a general rule the best strategy is to open shove a fairly tight range, and to look for good three bet shove spots against players opening too wide and/or raise folding too much.

Thanks for your question!

 

[acatrineivas]

hi, did you ever get to excited with a last player and expect to win and when you give call with a good hand you almost lose it all ?

 

[Mimo..Mach]

Hello Dara O'kearney!! Apart from this approach the fact of having or not the bankroll to buy the entry directly to a certain tournament, I ask you: do you recommend playing 3 tournaments (with the common variation of registered players) to obtain a ticket to a millionaire event or buy directly the entry? The first point is to save the entry fee and the second is to not wear yourself out. what do you recommend?

 

[Dara OKearney]

hi, did you ever get to excited with a last player and expect to win and when you give call with a good hand you almost lose it all ?

Not that I remember. I tend to be very unemotional when I play.

Thanks for your question!

 

[christovam]

Hello Cardchat,

I'm Dara O'Kearney, known as Doke online. I'm a professional Irish poker tournament player with over $1 million in live winnings and over $3 million in online MTTs, not to mention 8 PocketFives Triple Crowns.

Perhaps I'm best known for being a satellite expert. I won over $1 million on online satellites alone and I just wrote a new book on this subject called Poker Satellite Strategy:

Far from the tables, I am the co-host of the Chip Race Podcast, winner of the Global Poker Award and sponsored by Unibet Poker. Before poker I was an ultra-marathon runner

Cardschat kindly agreed to let me do an Ask Me Anything topic where you can ask me anything about satellites and tournament strategy. This will be ongoing, I'll be checking most weeks starting this one to answer your questions, and to start I'll be around tomorrow to answer the first batch.

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

LOVES


Dara

I have a lot of trouble playing satellites because they are hyper turbo. How can I play at the beginning if I can't expect good hands?
In this case, I am referring to the free tournaments.

 

[christovam]

Congratulations on your done !!
As for satellites, which is the most suitable for beginners, turbos, super turbos or regulars?

I restart the question with another: what to do when we start a hyper-turbo tournament? Large bets or at the same level as a normal MTT?

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara O'kearney!! Apart from this approach the fact of having or not the bankroll to buy the entry directly to a certain tournament, I ask you: do you recommend playing 3 tournaments (with the common variation of registered players) to obtain a ticket to a millionaire event or buy directly the entry? The first point is to save the entry fee and the second is to not wear yourself out. what do you recommend?

Hi,

Interesting question. One distinction I always make is to consider whether you're a pro (meaning poker is your primary source of income) or recreational (meaning you play for fun). This is not necessarily a "wins at poker/loses at poker" distinction as although pros have to win long term to stay as pros, I know many winning recreational players too (it's just not their primary source of income). If you're a pro you have a bankroll, so any satellites you play (and tournaments you qualify for) should follow the usual rules of bankroll management. By contrast, recreationals have a budget, so play anything you can afford to lose without it adversely affecting your life.

Irrespective of what you are, it's always a good idea to think about energy conservation. You don't want to be playing your biggest buyins tired!

Thanks for your question

 

[Dara OKearney]

I have a lot of trouble playing satellites because they are hyper turbo. How can I play at the beginning if I can't expect good hands?
In this case, I am referring to the free tournaments.

There's no real difference in strategy between hypers and slower paced tournaments, be they satellites or normal tournaments. You simply look for profitable spots and take them. The only actual difference is in very slow tournaments it can be correct not to take very close profitable spots for a lot of chips because if you lose you're out or short and you might miss even better spots as a result, but in a hyper you have to be more prepared to gamble and take any even slightly profitable spot!

I know it's frustrating when it's a hyper and you don't get many or any good spots before you get short but this will happen quite a bit if you're playing correctly. The compensation is in the long run you'll make the most sticking to good fundamental strategy.

Thanks for your question!

 

[Craig T]

Hi Dara. Thanks for doing this. I literally listen to your book every time I’m on my way to a satellite, then review and/or tweak my notes before I start to play.

In a live satellite today, we were down to 9 players vying for four seats. Hero is the short-stack with 4.125BB in CO with Q8♣︎ and the very active chip leader to my left on the BTN. LJ, whom I’d seen bet-fold several recent hands, opens with 2.5 BB. I tank a while, considered that I had no fold equity vs the BTN or initial raiser, and was likely far behind the latter. I folded. Of course, the flop was JT9, ace-high won, and I busted out the next hand.

Misplayed or played correctly?

 

[Chalo1930]

Top 4 sites to play satellites:
1.- unibet
2.-?
3.-?
4.-?
Regards

 

[fundiver199]

There's no real difference in strategy between hypers and slower paced tournaments, be they satellites or normal tournaments. You simply look for profitable spots and take them.

On some sites hypers have larger antes than other formats, and this is acutally something, you need to adjust to. But strictly speeking it is of course the antes, you adjust to, and not how fast the blinds go up

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara. Thanks for doing this. I literally listen to your book every time I’m on my way to a satellite, then review and/or tweak my notes before I start to play.

In a live satellite today, we were down to 9 players vying for four seats. Hero is the short-stack with 4.125BB in CO with Q8♣︎ and the very active chip leader to my left on the BTN. LJ, whom I’d seen bet-fold several recent hands, opens with 2.5 BB. I tank a while, considered that I had no fold equity vs the BTN or initial raiser, and was likely far behind the latter. I folded. Of course, the flop was JT9, ace-high won, and I busted out the next hand.

Misplayed or played correctly?

Hi Craig,

Played perfectly. With 4.5 bbs you have no fold equity on reshoves but you do have fold equity on shoves so without a premium you're looking for shoves rather than reshove spots like this one. The contrary is true when we slip below 3 bbs and now we are better off getting it in behind someone else (essentially using their open to give us fold equity against the players behind, and if we do get headsup versus the opener we will be getting 2/1 or better on our money). When we near bubble satellites it's hard to resist being results oriented and thinking back to previous spots we might have taken, but in this case your play was spot on.

Thanks for your question!

 

[AKQ]

in this modern day of gto poker
co hj raise frequency at 30%
Button raise frequency at 60%(might be 44%)

causing the reraise/squeeze range from the sb bb to become extra wide

ever stop and evaluate a hand and say to yourself my god... what has poker become

I like to think it has come full circle in poker theory

 

[AKQ]

so what do you think
should we be the one GTO'ing or the one exploiting it
and what frequency do we need to exploit it over it exploiting us to be EV+

 

[AKQ]

 

[Dara OKearney]

I restart the question with another: what to do when we start a hyper-turbo tournament? Large bets or at the same level as a normal MTT?

There's no reason to use different bet sizes just because it's a hyper. The fundamental strategy remains the same.

Thanks for your question!

 

[pariurisportive88]

how much money you earn this year ?

 

[RoviP]

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

Is Dara a good strategy to play single table satellites?

 

[Dara OKearney]

Just to let everyone know, my fourth poker strategy book with Barry Carter is now available on Amazon

Buy the book now:
UK paperback: https://amzn.to/3Gl1b93
UK Kindle: https://amzn.to/3UD2K6y
US Kindle: https://amzn.to/3XboVCr
US paperback: https://amzn.to/3ECSNAw

FR paperback: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/151369913X/ref=sr_1_5?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=157GTSBDRF0O2&keywords=dara+o%27kearney&qid=1668628423&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjM0IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=dara+o%27kearney%2Caps%2C49&sr=8-5

canada: https://www.amazon.ca/GTO-Poker-Sim...s0E9Hw_yQyzik50XdsYbpowpU3XI3viBPijA1zAo6NPys

If you do buy the book and like it Barry and I would really appreciate if you could leave an Amazon review. As self publishers we rely entirely on these and word of mouth

 

[ledsmith]

Hello. my question would be like this. Is it necessary to use computer assistants if you play a multi-table tournament, is it possible to succeed without them? I heard that professionals play with the help of programs, I do not know how to use it and whether it is necessary.