Is donk betting always bad?

Lost two sets tonight because I checked the flop as not to donk bet and then got checked behind to where one hand the villain hit his flush and the other the villain hit his straight. (A little frustrated at that right now)

I can't help but feel this would've been avoided if I bet the flop hard on a drawy board even if it was donk leading. I know FTR says never to do it, but my intuition tells me in certain situations it is a correct play.

Personally, I love to donk bet into a limped pot on the flop.

There is nothing wrong with donkbetting. These were probably both great situations to it. Don't NEVER do something. (<3 double negatives) There is always an exception to the rule, especially in poker.

Don't ever listen to a statement that includes the word never when it comes to poker. (Unless it's like, never piss your bankroll away or something like that, but you get the point). There will always be a number of situations where donking can be a fine play.

I donk a number of different type of hands into a multiway pot, and occassionally I'll donk a raised pot heads up. It depends on the situation.

Donk betting is fine in moderation. Just make sure you have a bit of balance, like don't lead a draw every single time etc. Throw in a few c/c and c/r with the same type of hand to mix up your play.

Just don't lead for like 1/5th the pot every time you see a flop because this is just ridiculously exploitable. Don't do that stupid donk-min bet every flop you see either because I see that all the time at microstakes and it's a hoot. You give villains odds to call for 2-outers and also receieve no value out of a made hand. Any player who donk min-bets every flop they see is exactly what the bet is called and I suggest adding these players to your buddy list or whatever. When these guys are in position on you they never use it correctly and become huge stations.

Donking (a proper amount) into LP raisers and TAGG's is a great play, especially when it tilts them.

I was thinking today about how aggressive I get with absolute air when people minbet donk. Maybe it's a good play when you've just moved up and you flopped a set against a perceived reg?

Originally Posted by Parasurama

I was thinking today about how aggressive I get with absolute air when people minbet donk. Maybe it's a good play when you've just moved up and you flopped a set against a perceived reg?

Yeah I'm sure one of my leaks right now is being over aggro/spewy vs annoying donk leads. I mean the kind that will min donk the flop - I raise my air like I'm cbetting. They call then they min donk the turn. That is so fucking tilty because I often have no idea how to play against it. The donk/folding guys are great. But the ones that will min donk call, min donk call with weak pairs, top pairs, monsters and draws really hurt my head.

Originally Posted by kb coolman

Personally, I love to donk bet into a limped pot on the flop.

I'm pretty sure there has to be a pre-flop raise for you to technically donkbet?

Originally Posted by Parasurama

I was thinking today about how aggressive I get with absolute air when people minbet donk. Maybe it's a good play when you've just moved up and you flopped a set against a perceived reg?

I donk bet a balanced range and see how you respond
Usually I do it when strong the first time and see if people raise me
especially if I have a strong hand but the board is drawy

I'd much rather c/r with a strong draw because giving a free card doesn't hurt my hand as much

I donk bet a lot against passive opponents for value. If He has 40% c-bet and I know he likes to bet small, but he likes to call down with all kinds of trash, then I just reverse the initiative on the flop when I think I'm ahead. If someone is more aggressive, I often like to find out how likely he is to fold against a donk bet, especially if he's to my right and we'll likely have a couple of blind steal situations.
And I donk a lot of 3-bet pots if an A hits, especially if the villain doesn't 3-bet light.
Whatever works for you.

It always depends on the board
if i see 2 suited cards
or 2 high connectors, im betting

Originally Posted by iopq

Originally Posted by Parasurama

I was thinking today about how aggressive I get with absolute air when people minbet donk. Maybe it's a good play when you've just moved up and you flopped a set against a perceived reg?

I donk bet a balanced range and see how you respond
Usually I do it when strong the first time and see if people raise me
especially if I have a strong hand but the board is drawy

I'd much rather c/r with a strong draw because giving a free card doesn't hurt my hand as much

Sorry, I was referring to min donkbetting. I think donkbetting a normal size can be very useful, and I do it with a fairly balanced range, but it's weighted towards stronger hands just because of how weak people perceive donkbets to be.

So to answer OP's question, no. Does anyone know how donkbetting got it's name?

Ok, let's reverse the question. How do YOU react to a donkbet? Because honestly, I don't really know what to do with them. (Either bet size, normal or min.) Any help would be good.

I treat the question of whether to lead out with a bet with my set as simply an aspect of the issue of whether to slow play. If I believe that my Villains are drawing to beat my set, I bet to give the Villains bad odds to play their draws.

Originally Posted by Parasurama

Originally Posted by iopq

Originally Posted by Parasurama

I was thinking today about how aggressive I get with absolute air when people minbet donk. Maybe it's a good play when you've just moved up and you flopped a set against a perceived reg?

I donk bet a balanced range and see how you respond
Usually I do it when strong the first time and see if people raise me
especially if I have a strong hand but the board is drawy

I'd much rather c/r with a strong draw because giving a free card doesn't hurt my hand as much

Sorry, I was referring to min donkbetting. I think donkbetting a normal size can be very useful, and I do it with a fairly balanced range, but it's weighted towards stronger hands just because of how weak people perceive donkbets to be.

So to answer OP's question, no. Does anyone know how donkbetting got it's name?

I donkbet exactly 1/2 pot
it's the most tilting bet sizing