What is Donk Leading?

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 18 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

By taking over the initiative, you give the pre flop raiser a fundamental and difficult choice.

One of the true internet terms, the phrase 'donk leading' simply refers to any situation where you lead straight into a pre flop raiser after calling and seeing a flop.

It became a widely derided technique by many good players, simply because at one point so many bad players would adopt this tactic and immediately back off if re-raised, that it became seen as a good way to lose even more money in a raised pot.

However, over time this has actually become a much more complex and important technique than many people think, and a solid grasp of good situations to lead into raisers is crucial to mid stake and above success.

The key point to think about when leading into raisers is that it changes the initiative of the hand completely. In some respects it actually becomes an advantage to be out of position, as you now get to bet first, thus dictating a lot of the action.

By taking over the initiative, you give the pre flop raiser a fundamental and difficult choice - they either have to try and get back the initiative of the hand by re-raising, or back down and have to lose the betting lead (or the hand completely in the case of folding). Both options are not palatable without a very good hand for the pre flop raiser - which most times they will not have unless they are super tight.

In the first case, they will end up building a big pot with a marginal hand against someone showing strength - not ideal. In the second case, they may well have to call numerous big bets to get to showdown - again not ideal with a big hand.

So there are the advantages. However, just like with most moves in poker, there are some key problems with it. Firstly, if the initial raiser does have a big hand, you are effectively doing their hard work for them, building a big pot out of position with the worse hand. Secondly, if you have a marginal hand and get raised after leading, you face a very difficult spot even if you suspect the pre flop raiser is weak. You may well have to be willing to play a very large pot, without much of a hand, out of position - again a very dangerous game in the long run.

Like many of the high risk/reward moves of poker, donk leading can be a two edged sword - able to both massively increase your win rate or severely hurt it. It relies on solid reads on your opponent, good board reading skills, and a lot of courage, but pulled off well it can be one of the most profitable moves in poker.

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