DON's aka Pokerstars Double or Nothing SNG's

I'm not going to be the first person to blog about the DON's or the last.

This isn't going to be a DON strategy article. If you are interested click here for a 2+2 thread.

Yes they can be frustrating when everyone tries to wait each other out, the blinds get high and there are still 10 people left. I was at one table where no one busted and we were 50 minutes in. I think i ram jammed first out on that one.

They are a slow way to build a bankroll. If you only play DON's you will lose your feel for how a large field MTT plays and you will not get any real heads-up or shorthanded experience as you do in a standard SNG since 5 spots pay and you only have to outwit, outplay and outlast 5 other nits.

In the standard non-turbo DON NLHE $5.40 buy-in you win $10 for a net profit of $4.60. If you win one and lose one you lose money.

Here is my way of improving my profit in the DON's:

I play the $2.20 satellite to the Sunday $100k guarantee at 3:30PM Est. If i win a seat I unregister which puts T$11 into my account. I then use the T$ to buy into a $5.40 SNG. If I win that I get $10 cash in my account. In effect i have now only used $2.20 my original satellite entry fee) to win $10 for a profit of $7.80 vs the $4.60 I win if i used $5.40 of cash. Plus i still have T$5.60 left. if I win another $5.40 SNG for $10 its really all profit. So in actuality I have only used $2.20 to win $17.80 ($20 for winning two $5.40 DON's). If i buy in the normal way. I spend $10.80 (2x$5.40) and only win $20 for a net profit of $9.20. I've almost doubled my ROI on the DON's using this method.

Yes it can be a grind much like the cash games but by playing the satellite you are keeping your Mtt skills sharp and by playing the Don's you can slowly grind a bankroll without the swings of cash game play.