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

Dara OKearney · Jul 23, 2023

aurora1207 said:
Hi Dara.
Is it recommended to try our luck in satellites to hope to win a big ticket or a package one day ?

Always! That’s the dream. Many successful careers have been started that way.

Good luck!

georgi krastev · Jul 23, 2023

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

RhinoRyan89 · Jul 24, 2023

Hi Dara

Quick question today

What is your average VPIP.

Thanks

nighton · Jul 24, 2023

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?

nameless · Jul 26, 2023

Hello . How you should aproach the mid strategy game in a satellite when ur the chipleader or second is good to be to agressive? Or u should play more careful?

Dara OKearney · Jul 26, 2023

antonis32123 said:
Hello Dara ,

Is there a good strategy for step sats ??

i see some sats they have 4 or 5 or 6 (or even more !!!) steps before you win the target (expensive) ticket . I struggle to win in even one sat , although i like them (cheap entry in case you win ) , so winning 4 or 5 or 6 or more in a row seems impossible (plus every next step rewards fewer tickets for the next step ..... ).

Thank you

There is a correct strategy, which is to consider each "step" as its own separate satellite to the next. That maximises your chances of making all the way, even if as you say it's still a long shot. But all you can do is play your best and shorten those long odds as much as possible!

Good luck and thanks for your question!

Dara OKearney · Jul 26, 2023

Atararo14 said:
Hi Dara, I hope you are well.

Do we have to widen our calling range in knockout tournaments to be profitable ?

Thank you !

Very much so. Examples of just how much can be found in my book "PKO Poker Strategy"

Dara OKearney · Jul 26, 2023

EddMaster said:
Hi Dara,

There have been multiple occasions where I have managed to satellite into another satellite for a larger tournament, but then fail dramatically on the second satellite. I feel that when I do this online, the odds are against me, but not sure why.
Is there anything you can recommend? (Bare in mind that I do not change my play style between 1st and 2nd satellite tournaments)

Thanks ✌🏼

Before I was a poker player I was a chess player. Chess tournaments are generally organised on what's called the Swiss system. After round one, people who won their first game play each other in round two, people who drew the first match play someone else who drew, and losers play other losers. After round two people who won both their first two matches play each other, and so on. This is an excellent way of ensuring players end up roughly where they should be by the end of the tournament. If you make a fast start and win a couple of close matches, you have to face tougher opposition you're likely to lose to, whereas if you lose two close matches at the start you're much more likely to win your third match against a player who has also lost their first two matches.
Multiple satellites kind of work the same. It's likely that the second satellite will feature stronger, maybe much stronger, opposition than the first as it'll have only previous satellite winners (or people willing to buy in for more if direct buyins are allowed to the second satellite). It's therefore unrealistic to assume the same % win rate is possible in the second one. That said, all you can do is still to good fundamental satellite strategy as outlined in my book "Poker Satellite Strategy" to maximise your chances.

Good luck and thanks for your question!

Dara OKearney · Jul 26, 2023

nighton said:
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?

I could write a book on this (wait, I did, it's called "Poker Satellite Strategy")

If you don't want to read an entire book I wrote up the most important tips in this article for PokerNews

Good luck and thanks for your question!

nighton · Jul 27, 2023

Thanks for the answer i will give it a look!!

Dara OKearney · Jul 27, 2023

werty328 said:
hello) please tell me how best to start playing knockout?)

Start with low buy ins and play very loose aggressive!

Dara OKearney · Jul 27, 2023

Natta777 said:
Good afternoon! Dara, I haven't read your books because of the language barrier. I re-read the entire thread of questions and answers here on the forum, learned a lot of new and interesting things about playing in satellites. Did I understand correctly that unlike multi-table tournaments, in satellites it is much more important to use the position at the table? Especially when playing in hyper tournaments, where there is no time to wait for a suitable hand.

This is correct. Late in satellites even when you have a strong hand, you generally want everyone to fold to your shoves, so choose spots where this is more likely.

As a matter of interest, what is your native language?

Dara OKearney · Jul 27, 2023

FRANCODAMI said:
Hi dara, how are you? I wanted to ask you how do you play the bubble? Since normally with a big stack , I rushed to get chips and ended up losing before I exploded , because I was anxious not wanting to let cards pass . Thank you

Assuming you mean a normal tournament rather than a satellite, it very much depends on your stack. With a short stack you should be playing push or fold and tight, as getting into the money is your main priority.

With a big stack you should be opening a lot of pots, but don't get too crazy with all ins. You're mainly looking to use small bets to apply pressure except when you have a premium.

With a medium stack you should be looking to apply pressure to short stacks and avoiding confrontations with bigger ones.

Thanks for your question!

Dara OKearney · Jul 27, 2023

kley126 said:
You are aggressive when playing a satellite or playingvery calm?

Calm. You're trying to survive, not win all the chips!

werty328 · Jul 28, 2023

Dara OKearney said:
Start with low buy ins and play very loose aggressive!

thank you very much and started playing the last time 💪

werty328 · Jul 28, 2023

Dara OKearney said:
Start with low buy ins and play very loose aggressive!

thank you very much, that's how I started playing the last time 💪

Dara OKearney · Jul 28, 2023

millya5 said:
You go all in when their stacks get short

Yes. Strategically it's the same when you play against a short stack as when you are the short stack.

Dara OKearney · Jul 28, 2023

Pavel1203733 said:
Hello. Tell me please is there a big difference between strategies during the tournament with prizes only for KO and tournaments when the part of prizes is guarantee pays.

Yes there is. If the entire prize pool is bounties just add a starting stack for each starting bounty when you cover the other player

Dara OKearney · Jul 28, 2023

mariussica88 said:
Hello Dara,

I saw that you are at the WSOP? are you playing any satellites while you are there or just buy in directly into the events that you play?

GL

I played satellites when I had spare time (no other event at that time I wanted to play). I'd already won a satellite for the main online.

Thanks for your question and interest!

Dara OKearney · Jul 28, 2023

Chica_bonita said:
Hello.
What poker tools do you use and what poker tools, in your opinion, should be in the arsenal of every player?

I wrote a blog on this here: http://dokearney.blogspot.com/2022/11/tools-of-trade.html

Thanks for your question!

Dara OKearney · Jul 29, 2023

Luvart said:
-Question:

What's your opinion on Phil Hellmuth's advice for beginners in tournaments about "playing only the top-15 starting hands, AA-22 , AK-AQ and maybe KQ"?

I think it's a reasonable strategy for beginners which will minimise tricky post flop spots but as you get experienced you definitely want to add more nuance!

Dara OKearney · Jul 29, 2023

nameless said:
Hello nice to meet you. I have a question how do you approach in satellites versus agressive players? And if u enjoy playing satellites?

Facing aggressive opponents is good news for two reasons:
(1) Early on they'll present you with great opportunities if you just tighten up. You can do this in a satellite because you're not trying to win all the chips: just enough to survive til the end
(2) The same is true late on but you have to tighten up even more. Knowing how much to tighten up is one of the trickiest things in satellites, so much that there's a whole chapter in my book "Poker Satellite Strategy" entitled Adjusting For Imperfection on it. The fact that other players won't adjust correctly is great for you near the end as it makes it more likely the aggressive players will knock others out, or themselves

Thanks for the question, and good luck!

Dara OKearney · Jul 29, 2023

Gritz18 said:
Hello Dara.

I'm an amateur player, and I only play freerolls, my question for you:
It's worth playing the free satellites that Pokerstars offers to win tickets to other tournaments, as these satellites are very popular.
If so, what would be a good strategy, as these tournaments usually have a large number of players.

Grateful Cesar.

Just play them like a normal tournament. You can't lose if they're freerolls. I built my initial online bankroll in freerolls.

Good luck!

Dara OKearney · Jul 29, 2023

nasty bent gorilla said:
In micro stakes satellites, what is your view of having an unbalanced limping strategy; playing only premium hands this way to exploit opponents?

Thanks

It's definitely fine in micro stakes where it's unlikely you won't be exploited. I use that strategy myself at the lowest stakes I play.

Atararo14 · Jul 30, 2023

Hi Dara,

I started to study strategies to play knockouts and I was surprised by some spots where you have to shove with 72o to try to win the bounty of a short stack opponent (for example: 8bb deep).

Do you think this play is correct ?

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