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

[jose_saleh]

Hello Dara, I'd like to ask you if there's a big difference in strategy between low vs high buy in KO tourneys. I only play at lows, and there people tend to all in very frequently to try to get a bounty, it's the same for the big tourneys?

 

[luckyfish98]

I would like to know why the main prize cannot be agreed upon in the final table of the knock out tournaments

 

[Tomash7788]

There is a lot to read in this section. Thank you for all the insight and personal experience . I have a beginner question, do all satellite tourneys lead to some major tournament or can you actually finish them from your comfty residence. I don't see myself travelling around at this point, but it is not like I was ever in that situation hah

 

[CataRouillet]

Hi Dara, how are you? My question about satellites is the following. If you are playing on micro levels. Is it justifiable to play a satellite for the same value of a micro tournament entry to play a low or medium level tournament?
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions from the community.

 

[nasty bent gorilla]

Have you ever attempted a reverse tell? Such as, taking a long time on the turn decision to appear weak?

Thanks, nbg

 

[georgi krastev]

Hi, Dara, it's nice to see you again...

I want to ask you a question about tournamet open bet/raise; I'm not good in the tournamets at all & i open just like in the cash games with (3BB or more), but no one call pretty often, so, i change to min raise, but now are a lot of callers, WOW.

Can you, please, offer the best (оpen bet/raise for tournaments) according to you...

Greetings!

Georgi

Hi, Dara, hope you are having a good time...

I'll just add a small update to my question: I started opening with x7bb and now the 68o callers are gone; rarely get a 1v1 fight; but I seem to save myself a good deal of trouble; the penultimate time I got to the bubble; what is your opinion on this… if you can, share…

 

[nighton]

Hi Dara!
I started playing a few satellites i think im making mistakes about being conservative in some spots folding queens or jacks when i know an agressive player with chips is raising with a wide range . Is better to call in that spots risking my tournament life ?

 

[Dmitriy_rus7]

Hi Dara. What's the biggest byi-in you've put in to enter a tournament?

 

[mattiebumpo]

Dara, If I won a seat in a satellite to a large buy in event that is much larger than my bankroll can allow, do you suggest selling action and if so how like would you price it or how would you go about it?

 

[RhinoRyan89]

Hi Dara

quick question

Do you have an end goal when you would stop playing poker totally.

Or is poker gunna be a life long hobby.

Thanks in advance RhinoRyan89

 

[Atararo14]

Hi Dara, I hope you are well.

I would like to share with you my result in sunday million last week.

I won the ticket on 3 satellites.

Honestly I'm not satisfied with my result because of the last hand which busted me, I busted with a 23bb stack, I bluffed a tight profile, but I still understood that concentration is a very important key (7 hours of play before bust), plus I was very unlucky to win bounty.

 

[Pabloro10321]

there are so many things to ask, but the first is how much should you invest in satellites, with a value in%

 

[aquilex2799]

Hi Dara.

I have a question here: when you play a satellite and you are at a table with 4 calling stations who are deep stacked. We are on early game. I get KK at UTG. How can I play this hand? I mean if I bet 3bb they will call for sure. If I shove, I think I'm wasting premium cards. Tell me what to do in this scenario.

Thanks.

Denis

 

[Fepitaph]

qq dara, perhaps a bit of a flat question, but still for me it will be interesting. If we're talking about satellites, do we want to adjust to the OP like we do in normal MTT freeouts, or is it better to just choose one of the branches of aggressive or passive play and follow it? a large number of players who do not even understand how they ended up in this satellite can create incomprehensible trash on this and I ask you to at least slightly give priority to your awareness of how the player plays, even if you did not see so many hands / sd.

 

[kley126]

How would your style of play be if in a tournament you arrive at a table of pure professionals?

 

[Dzill_230]

Привет Дара. Скажите, при игре в сателлите, насколько широким должен быть диапазон разыгрываемых рук на первой и средней позициях? Всем новичкам говорят ждать хорошей руки: Broadway Bundles и пары от AA до JJ, но ждать роста блайндов каждые 3 минуты и начального стека около 12 BB невыгодно. И как, по-вашему, должна выглядеть тайтовая агрессивная игра в таких условиях? Спасибо за ответ.

 

[gon4iypes]

Hey Dara: Just a couple of questions if I may... How did you transition from ametuer to pro? What things did you take into consideration for a better chance of success?
Thanks alot,
David

 

[nameless]

Hi dara hows the diference when u play satellites or tournaments ? Im asking about the range of cards you use to open is more tight or is the same as you play tournaments?

 

[sumdumguy]

Give greetings;
For an intermediate poker player, which satellite would you recommend (in the PS room), would you be able to play fluently?

 

[mariussica88]

Hello, Dara

Do you play on GGPoker? And if you do, are you playing regularly?

Also do you think is easier to win a wsop bracelet online or live?

Thank you.

 

[nighton]

Hi dara !
im playing few satellites this days i win a few medium tickets and lose some im playing more tie this satellites thay tournaments i believe im making more wins like that i should approach satellites like this? Or i should play more hands

 

[42068673]

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

Buena data

 

[seiya1989]

Hello Dara how are you? What is the best way to play the initial stage of a knockout tournament? Should I be aggressive or play passively?

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara,

I have reviewed a few knockout tournaments and noticed that good players call with any two cards in an attempt to win the bounty when their villain is short stacked.

Are there call ranges against the short stacked to be respected or is that still an estimate ?

There's a method we describe in "PKO poker strategy" you can use to work out how much equity (in % terms) bounties are worth roughly, but there;s always a certain amount of guess work involved

https://amzn.to/47XFp6S

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hello Dara how are you? What is the best way to play the initial stage of a knockout tournament? Should I be aggressive or play passively?

Aggressive! The bounties are a bigger share of your equitry so you want to be competing for them from the start and building a stack that allows you to take as many as possible!