Don Tournament is the type of SNG-tournaments, where the money gets half of the participants, and once this tournament ends, the other half did not receive anything. Prizes at the same time — double the buy-in minus the rake. The basic format of this tournament — a tournament for 10 and 6 people. Today, let’s try to discuss the basic strategy for profitable games in the tournament based on the format of 10 people (while playing for 6 people need to make appropriate adjustments.)
Don Tournaments can be divided into three stages — early, middle and late.
— The tactics of the game in an early stage. The main purpose of your game in the early stages of the tournament should be the preservation of your stack. You have to play very tight, playing only premium hands (for example exhibited All in dons in the initial stage at a distance of only profitable with a pair of aces, pocket kings, will be exhibiting near-zero, with all the other hands, at a distance to go for broke unprofitable).
— In the middle stage, when the tournament is 7-8 people your target — to play very aggressively, you should look for opportunities to steal the blinds. You need to be clear as to which opponents you’re trying to steal the blinds, as far as they are tight. It is important to identify for themselves what the players at the table — regulars. Oddly enough, to act against these players is easier than against weak opponents, because inexperienced opponent may loose to call your All in, and one of the main targets of your game — to avoid comparisons to the stack.
— Late stage — the bubble (still 6 participants). To this point we need to know push-fold strategy. If by this time you have a very big stack, you’re free to do whatever you prefer. The main difficulty is in the game with an average stack. Main target — stealing the blinds. There will be more important than in the middle stage, the understanding of the opponents against whom you have decided to enter the hand. Avoid loose nominations. Remember, your target is not getting your stack, and the preservation of their league «of life.» And finally, if you are the owner of a short stack you in that no matter what, you have to go All in at any available opportunity, there is nothing wrong if you put in the so-called «koinflip.»
That’s all. It remains to add that if you want to do in the game dons a professional, highly desirable to use the software to gather statistics Hold’Em Manager or PokerTracker, which will help you on the basis of some figures to make the right decisions in a variety of game situations. Also, remember that this kind of tournaments are not present in all poker rooms, and if you are interested in precisely this kind, be sure to inquire about their availability in the selected room. On our website we provide an opportunity to register with the room of Carbon, where there is this kind of tournament.