Double or Done

If you play online poker tournaments - multi-table or sit 'n' go - for any length of time you'll come across "Double or Done" (DorD) players. So what is "Double or Done"?

"D or D" could also stand for "Do or Die". It's a strategy for no-limit, no-rebuy tourneys that involves pushing all your money into an early big pot on a coin flip hand. If you lose you're out. But if you win... you've doubled up early, giving you a big advantage for the rest of the game.

My immediate reaction to this is very negative. For a start I don't like that sort of playing style, either in my opponents or myself. I'm also not convinced the maths adds up - it fails to take into account the entrance fee for the tourney. You'd have to play twice as many tournaments to get the same expected result, costing you twice as much in entry fees.

On second thoughts, maybe there is something to it. Tournament structure means that only a minority of players end in the money, the rest get paid nothing. If for example it's choice of four tournaments where you do well and just miss the money, or eight tournaments where you make the final table, then the latter is probably a better financial proposition. Even taking into account the entry fees, perhaps it does work.

There's also the time factor. If you're going to end up with nothing, better to find out before investing a couple of hours of time that could be more profitably spent elsewhere. If time is money then playing a tourney for three hours and going out on the bubble is expensive.

So part of me thinks that maybe there really is something in DorD poker. As of yet I haven't tried it. Even if it does make financial sense (I'm still not convinced) it's simply not the sort of game I want to play. My main motive for playing poker is fun.

On the other hand, there are bills to be paid...

Labels: glossary, poker, strategy