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

[nameless]

Hi dara;
i have a ticket for a highroller tournament but is 10 times my bankroll how should i approach that tourney i win in for a few dollars . I think i dont have the level to be in there probably lot of better players how should be my strategy to have a better chance to cashout in your opinion?

 

[plonk]

Hi Dara

Big fan. Your poker teaching content is the best out there that I know of. I'm just finishing your book on Satellites. (Can't wait for your Exploit book.) I have a practical question:

Which online poker sites (if any) still allow players to convert tickets they've won in satellites into tournament money (or, better yet, real money) instead of playing the target event?

It looks like GGPoker sort of allow this some of the time, and other than that it seems poker sites either don't allow it or have no public info on whether they allow it.

Follow-up: If, hypothetically, there were no poker site at all that allows it (and the only way to use tickets were to play the target event), then what would be your general recommendations on how to use satellites as part of a bankroll-growing strategy (if at all)?

Many thanks!
Seb

 

[nighton]

Hi dara!
Where you can learn for free how to play satellites?
Books or online articles?
Or they are couches to learn from?
Hope you have a good day!

 

[kapos77]

Great info! Thanks so much for your reply!

 

[Dmitriy_rus7]

Hello Dara. Tell me the most ridiculous situation at the table that you had and you regret it

 

[ammje]

Hello Dara, I play with 100 buy ins for tournaments, my question is, to play satellites, what banroll should you have?

 

[Grzegorz00pl]

Cześć Daro;
mam bilet na turniej highroller, ale jest on 10 razy większy od mojego bankrolla. Jak powinienem podejść do turnieju, w którym wygrywam za kilka dolarów? Myślę, że nie mam odpowiedniego poziomu, aby tam grać. Prawdopodobnie jest tam wielu lepszych graczy. Jaka powinna być moja strategia, aby według Ciebie mieć większą szansę na wypłatę?

I got similar situations. I won few frerols (1500-2500players) and then It is next event - it is very difficult to win. What advices You have?

 

[Debi]

Just a note - it doesn't look like Dara will be posting in this thread anymore. We were fortunate to have him here for so long!

 

[Grzegorz00pl]

Just a note - it doesn't look like Dara will be posting in this thread anymore. We were fortunate to have him here for so long!

Hi Debi,
of course I noticed that there is no answer. I have just read that threath because it is valuable knowledge for me
I also "like" all posts I have already read.

 

[Grzegorz00pl]

Just a note - it doesn't look like Dara will be posting in this thread anymore. We were fortunate to have him here for so long!

I also wrote him in private message xD - Just want to thans him- today if I got 22 usd Bankrol I could play turnament with 40.000 pricepool - I just win 3 freerolls - the same guys win the second and third step - I won lastly few Bounty Builders freerols, Fenomeno, Titans - all at pokerstars. But I lost over 250usd in cash game and slots ;( Fu.@#$$$#@.n slots wrrrr)

 

[Grzegorz00pl]

Dziękujemy za przyłączenie się do CardsChat i zadawanie pytań i odpowiedzi!

Moje pytanie: pod koniec satelity online, powiedzmy, że dotyczy 60 osób, a 50 kwalifikuje się do biletu do następnego; zawiera się w pierwszej trójce żetonów i masz wymagany wymagany bilet...

Czy przesiadujesz, czy po prostu dopasowasz, jeśli się nie zakwalifikujesz, czy też grasz tak jak zwykle i regularsz znokautować niektórych ludzi?

Dziękujemy za przyłączenie się do CardsChat i zadawanie pytań i odpowiedzi!

Moje pytanie: pod koniec satelity online, powiedzmy, że pozostało około 60 osób, a 50 kwalifikuje się do biletu do następnego turnieju; znajdujesz się w pierwszej trójce żetonów i masz prawie gwarantowany bilet...

Czy przesiadujesz, czy po prostu pasujesz, dopóki się nie zakwalifikujesz, czy też grasz tak jak zwykle i próbujesz znokautować niektórych ludzi?

I am also wonder what is answer. I was wliminated so many times when i was able to get ticket,

 

[Dara OKearney]

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

First off, I apologise for the lengthy absence.: I've been very busy on other stuff (including finishing my forthcoming book "Beyond GTO".

The best answer to how my wsop went can be found in the four blogs I wrote about it:

Busting the WSOP Main Event - The Worst Day of the Year

VSO News writer Dara O’Kearney gives his insight into busting the Main Event in the WSOP and how he copes with disappointment.

www.vegasslotsonline.com

Dara O’Kearney: The Summer of Ten Cashes at the WSOP

Dara O’Kearney gives his take on his performance at this year’s WSOP, where he cashed ten times but missed out in the Main.

www.vegasslotsonline.com

Dara O’Kearney: A Divergence From Poker Theory at WSOP

VSO News writer Dara O’Kearney explains why he had a divergence from poker theory in a hand at the recent WSOP in Las Vegas.

www.vegasslotsonline.com

Dara O'Kearney: The Biggest Mistake of My Career

I made a horrible mistake in a hand at the World Series of Poker, but it should serve as a good lesson for all poker players.

www.vegasslotsonline.com

Going forward I'll keep answering questions here (and try to be more regular), unless the question was asked and answered before. So if you ask a question and I seem to skip by it, scroll back to when I previously answered it

 

[Dara OKearney]

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

Hi,

First off, I apologise for the lengthy absence.: I've been very busy on other stuff (including finishing my forthcoming book "Beyond GTO".

The best answer to how my WSOP went can be found in the four blogs I wrote about it:

https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/ne...he-wsop-main-event-the-worst-day-of-the-year/
https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2023/07/26/dara-okearney-the-summer-of-ten-cashes/
https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2023/08/01/dara-okearney-a-divergence-from-theory-at-the-wsop/
https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2023/08/08/dara-okearney-the-biggest-mistake-of-my-career/

Going forward I'll keep answering questions here (and try to be more regular), unless the question was asked and answered before. So if you ask a question and I seem to skip by it, scroll back to when I previously answered it

 

[Dara OKearney]

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

Yes, I still run almost every day when I'm at home, but not competitively any more. My regime is a runs of 5-10 miles (8-16km) five days a week, and a longer run once a week (depending on fitness level this can be anything from 15-35 miles (24-56 km).

 

[millya5]

Hi Dara ! I am very glad that you did not leave and stayed with us and give the right advice . I really love satellites and fortunately there are now a lot of them on poker rooms . I prefer free satellites. Free satellites have one big problem with the first 30 minutes of the game - it's real Bingo .! It’s interesting to know how you react to such players: whether you ignore them or not .
And recently I had an incident in a satellite . There are six people left before receiving tickets, but two aces came to me . Without thinking for a long time I went all-in and lost . I'm interested to know your game strategy, would you go all in or will you wait until the weak players are eliminated?

 

[Dara OKearney]

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?

I pretty much only play Holdem tournaments. I envy cash game players who can choose their own hours more though

 

[Dara OKearney]

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

For me personally it was when I got headsup for a bracelet back in 2015.

I wrote about it here:

https://dokearney.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-happened-in-vegas-part-2event-45.html

 

[Dara OKearney]

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

The best you can do is convert each bounty to a bounty discount as you would headsup (explained in detail in my book on PKOs), then divide the total by the number of players in the pot to get an average bounty discount, then subtract that from your pot odds to get overall equity your hand needs multi-way

 

[Dara OKearney]

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?

True frequency

 

[Dara OKearney]

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 Georgi,

As a general rule I open to 2.3 bbs with 40 bbs or more, 2.2 between 30 and 40, 2,1 with 20 to 30 bbs, and 2 with 20 bbs or less. GTOWizard is a good way to study correct sizings:

https://gtowizard.com/p/slowdoke

 

[Dara OKearney]

Hi Dara

Quick question today

What is your average VPIP.

Thanks

24% online, a bit lower live.

While I'm here, Barry and I have relaunched our YouTube channel with lots of free videos:

https://www.youtube.com/@BarryDara

 

[Dara OKearney]

I usually got frustrated in satellites and i dont know how to play it correctly what tips can you say for amateur players and how can u approach this tournaments to have a better winning porcentaje?

This is going to sound self serving but it's all in the book (which we have just updated with a chapter on Milestone (aka Target stack) satellites:

Poker Satellite Strategy

If you already bought the book and just want the extra chapter, it's available separately on Kindle for the price of a cup of coffee:

Milestone Satellite Strategy

 

[Dara OKearney]

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:
I just released my 6th poker book with Barry Carter.

Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified is a modern take on exploitative poker. We use modern solver technology to break down some of the biggest leaks you see at the tables today.

The book is a natural companion to our 2022 book GTO Poker Simplified. In addition to the exploits, we also show the GTO solution for every spot we cover and explain the thinking behind both strategies.

There is no guesswork or anecdotal evidence, this book shows you how a perfect GTO player would make the most from a flawed human opponent. It provides actionable heuristics for you to crush soft games, including:

• How to exploit nits, calling stations, and maniacs
• Why balance is important, even at low stakes
• What old school players got wrong about exploitative poker
• How to get into the mind of a professional player playing against weak opponents
• Specific preflop and postflop leaks, as well as flop, turn and river mistakes
• How to avoid making the biggest errors yourself

For those of you with GTO Poker Simplified, we have also fixed a long-standing issue a few customers had with a poker charts.

As always we self publish our books so your feedback is vital. If you buy the book it would mean the world to us if you told your friends and left a review for us on Amazon (it will be available on the other formats by the start of next week).

Buy Beyond GTO: Poker Exploits Simplified

Thank you,
Dara

 

[Dara OKearney]

A big thank you to those who have already bought the book sending it to number one on the Amazon chart in the US, UK and most other countries!

You can read more about the new book (including the brilliant foreword by Andy Black) here

 

[mbermejo174]

Hello Dara!
i'd like to know how you deal with situations when you are in the bubble with a short stack.
How do you play in these situations?