Quotes, Tips, and Strategies to help achieve Donk Theory Optimal Poker

As a seasoned veteran in some of the most high stakes $20 buy-in online games, I believe it is time to impart some wisdom for potential and up-and coming degenerates.  Currently, there are plenty of references and solvers on teaching individuals how to play Game Theory Optimal (GTO) poker.  Unfortunately, there is a dearth of resources that give guidance on how to play Donk Theory Optimal (DTO).  Below are some of the deep insights and best kept secrets that I’ve accumulated over my year and a half of playing the game.  Unless otherwise noted, the advice is most applicable to NL Hold’em, but is easily adaptable to other game modes as well.

For example, many players will easily recall situations like this.  Facing a massively raised pot, looking down on 4-2, and insta-folding is a mistake that a so-called GTO player is and you may be making.  However, if you sit back and think about it, what if the board runs out like it does here with your opponent even having AA to pay you off?

Wouldn’t you feel like the dumbest person ever for not having faith in the 4-2?

The solution?  Just don’t fold!  Any suited, or even non-suited, cards can make a flush.  Somewhat connected cards can make straights.  Even two cards that are both far-apart and non-suited always have the potential of hitting a full-house.  Is this the most profitable strategy?  Some will argue no.  However, it is the best strategy in order to avoid FOMO on any given hand.

If there’s enough money in the pot, sometimes you just gotta call.  After all, even having the worst hand in poker, 2-7 off-suit against the best starting hand, AA, and two other people has nearly a 10% chance of winning!

Of course, there are some criticisms of this strategy.  There can be a decent chance you’re dominated. If you’re in a bad position, then it’ll be very hard for you to realize your equity.  And of course, at any time post-flop, you can be drawing dead.  However, since poker is a game of incomplete information, we can always convince ourselves that none of these things are true.

“I’ll min-raise your min-bet”

When playing in a pot, we’ve just discussed that it is essential to be willing to call a lot because of pot odds.  For example, if your opponent ever min-bets, then you should always call them since you have the pot-odds. 

A refinement of this strategy is the min-raise.  In general, it is much better to bet and raise than call pots, especially for beginners.  The reason being that betting and raising allows you to win the pot immediately if your opponents fold or gives you initiative in the hand.  As a result, you’re able to both build big pots with good hands and bluff out opponents with bad hands more easily.  

The effectiveness of min-raises follows from this logic.  You already have to call since you have the pot-odds, so why not put in a min-raise to get all of the benefits of raising too?  In a best case scenario, if you’re playing an online game, your opponent may even have “Auto check fold” selected, allowing you to automatically win a pot!  Even if your opponent calls, you’ve only committed the additional minimum.

Keen readers will realize that, if the min-raise is optimal for you, then the min-reraise is optimal for your opponent.  This is true!  If your opponent is also playing DTO poker, then he will likely min-reraise.  If this happens, you must re-raise again!  As a result, assuming optimal play on both sides, this will continue until someone is all-in through min-raises.

“I’m straddling”

Although not a strategy, when someone at the table is straddling, it is common courtesy to over-straddle if able to.  This etiquette applies recursively.  Therefore, assuming you are playing with well-mannered individuals, every straddled pot should get to either the maximum number of straddles allowed at the table or put someone all-in before they even look at their cards.  If an individual does not commit to this, then it is the moral obligation of everyone else to shame that person.

“If I’m out of position and I check, then suddenly I’m in position”

Many people would advise playing a narrower range of hands when out-of-position than in-position since playing OOP is much harder and generally less profitable.  However, this should not deter the most committed of donks.  An easy way to get around this problem iis to just “check” whenever you’re OOP.  That way if your opponent bets, you suddenly have position.

“Limping is like buying a call option on the pot”

Open-limping is yet another strategy that has sadly been denigrated over the years.  Although it has drawbacks such as not being able to define your opponents’ ranges and forfeiting the opportunity to win the pot outright, there’s one advantage that many people seem to miss.  Much like having pot-odds and checking allows one the option of playing position, an open-limp is like buying a call option on the rest of the pot.  In finance, a call option allows you the right but not the obligation to purchase a stock for a given price.  For a small upfront cost, you can buy-in on the action of all the upside of a stock.  A stock rally can lead to a payoff several times the initial investment.  LIkewise, for the cost of one mere big blind, a poker player can buy-in to a potentially enormous pot.  Now those are some pot-odds!

“I need to balance my folding range”

Having a well-balanced range of hands to call and raise is essential for any player.  However, a truly sophisticated individual also constructs a well-balanced folding range as well.  Sometimes, it’s important to fold monsters in order to keep opponents truly on their toes.

“Was it positive EV?  No!  But was it entertaining? Yes!”

Although the other tips in this article describe only the most profitable of players, sometimes it’s necessary to make a play that is bad in terms of making money but you have to do anyways to gain respect at the table.  Such examples include the open-shove for 30x pot in order to win the blinds, betting 69 chips when you’re dealt 6-9, or aggressively playing 2-7 even when there’s no bounty. 

After all, there’s positive monetary EV, but there’s also the much more important social EV.

“Here I go potting again”

This piece of advice isn’t as relevant to no-limit games but is very important to pot-limit games.  Unlike no-limit, raises in pot-limit games cannot be any larger than the pot.  You still have the option to fold, check, or raise a smaller amount.  However, it is generally advisable to ignore the last option as it is DTO to only ever raise the pot.  

The reason that there are pot-limit rules in the first place is because the hand equities for these games run very close.  Therefore, if allowed, it is very profitable to bet an amount a lot larger than the pot since either you win the pot outright or even if you are “caught”, you still have a pretty decent chance to win.  Even the rules are telling you it’s good to bet as big as possible!  

From this, we must conclude that any raise that is less than the pot will just come off as weak and exploitable.

“To bluff the enemy, you must first bluff yourself”

The last strategy we will go over is by far the most advanced.  The other strategies mentioned can all be performed with a conscious and deliberate effort by any player.  However, in order to master this strategy, a conscious effort is not sufficient.  In fact, it is even detrimental!  It is only through subconscious execution that this technique can be performed to its fullest potential.

In poker, it is common knowledge that you must incorporate bluffs into your play.  However, bluffs are hard.  If you’re playing live, and perhaps even online, you can give off tells that give away a weak hand.  Sometimes, you might even just be too scared.  Mastering the art of bluffing yourself will result in these problems becoming a thing of the past!  After all, if you yourself truly believe that you have a monster hand, then there’s no reason why your opponent wouldn’t either right?

The first level of achieving mastery is to ignore whatever card you’re dealt.  Instead, convince yourself that you have the cards that you want.  A good starter strategy is to always assume you are dealt AA pre-flop.  However, what happens if the flop comes 2h7h9s?  In that case, you can simply switch your mental representation of your hand to either 99 or 8h10h, either will do.  After all, if you never get to showdown, then it doesn’t really matter what cards you actually had right?  If this is too difficult to do at first, feel free to simply not even look at the cards that you’re dealt to begin with.  That way, weak holdings won’t deter you from successfully executing this strategy.

Ignoring your cards is something that even a beginner player can begin practicing.  However, the following techniques will only be available to seasoned DTO practitioners.

The first of these techniques is to either misread your hand or the board.  For example, you may be holding 4h3h, while the board runs out as Ah10h7sJd5d.  Unfortunately, in this situation you only have 4-high.  However, if you thought that either the 5d or Jd were actually a heart then you would have a flush.  If you misread the 7 instead as a 2, then you would have a straight.  By convincing yourself that either of these things is true, you can confidently bet your hand for value even though in reality it’s a bluff.

Finally, the most advanced technique is convincing yourself that you’re in a different game than you actually are.  For example, even though Pot-Limit-Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo have different rules, their hole-cards, community cards, and betting sequences are exactly the same.  As a result, it’s possible to be dealt a very good PLO hand but bad Hi-Lo hand during a Hi-Lo game and vice-versa.  However, if you always believe that you are sitting in a game where your hand is good, then you can continue playing it with confidence.

Bonus last tip:  The martingale

Although poker is in the long-run a game of skill, in the short-run it is still very luck based.  Therefore, even if you follow DTO poker, although unlikely, you may find yourself losing.  Do not fret!  With martingale betting, you simply have to buy-in for the equivalent amount that you busted previously and repeat until you eventually claw a profit.  Since you are a persistent individual, it is inevitable that you will eventually become profitable. 

An even more expedient variant of this strategy is to simply open-shove every hand.  You’ll either win the blinds outright or will be presented with a prime opportunity to double up and recoup all of your losses (remember pre-flop, no matter what cards you or your opponent has, you always have equity).  Either way, it’s a win!

Parting words:  “I’ll show you who’s a degenerate!”

If these strategies are employed in enough games, inevitably people will criticize either your play or you personally.  You will likely be labelled as a “Degenerate”.  However, the vernacular in poker is vastly different than in other aspects of your life.  Although being a “Degenerate” in most instances is something to be ashamed of, in poker it should be received with pride.  Being labelled this means you have been recognized as a true practitioner of DTO poker!  Therefore, the only appropriate response to this is to continue employing these strategies as much if not more than you already are!

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