I play docked all the time, no complaints. Yes you need to tweak and be ok with lesser performance but that comes with the power of the deck. It was almost a year after I got the deck before I started using my gaming pc again. Played through cyberpunk, horizon zero dawn,shadow of the tomb raider. It’s more a keep expectations in check and you’ll be fine

I only close it when I’m playing stuff through heroic games or battle net. As those are non steam programs I’ve found the wake up to be a bit goofy at times. Otherwise it’s pretty seamless if it’s a steam store game to sleep and reopen

I use my deck regularly in my hands when I’m watching a movie or my kids are using my gaming pc etc. I also spend time at my in-laws and it’s great to fire up Baldurs gate 3 on a couch far from my gaming pc! I do have a dock too and play on that as well