It depends on the mix.  I try to do it however I think it will sound best.  I think the majority of the time, however, that means mixing beats.  When I spin DnB I like to do a lot of "throwing the faders" as I like to say.  I rarely just do a nice, smooth, drawn-out mix like I would with trance (unless I'm spinning some FM type stuff, I find the fader throwing thing doesn't work as well with the more melodic type of DnB--I mostly spin tech step when I spin DnB, and also a little jump up and/or ragga).  The thing I like about DnB is that you can be much more active and creative in your mixing, doing things that you could never get away with when spinning trance.  So, my advice would be to take some time when you can just let loose and try all sorts of different things and see what you like--develop your own flavor of mixing it up.  Sometimes that will probably mean taking a track all the way to the beginning.  Sometimes that will probably mean skipping a big portion of the beginning of the track (I have one Tech Itch track where almost half the track is an ambient intro--if I don't use it to start the set then I will most likely skip that whole part, or at least most of it).  Change it up.  Get creative.  Develop your taste.  Have fun.

Well, Im one that listens to all of my tracks about 4-5 times before i ever consider playing them live, in my spare time. Most of them already have a 1-2-3-4 hit or cymbal in the intro, however, some intros dont have that, so I fast forward to the first major hit, and pick up on what the tempo is, then I cue it up at the very beginning of the track....sometimes I only want to use the second part of the track, so I start playing it, once the 2nd part of the first track gets boomin, or figure out how many beat sequences are left until the outro.

so 1) Listen to your tracks in your spare time, to get a feel of them, before you ever play them.
2) after completing #1, you should already have a 4-beat count of the tempo for each of your DnB tracks, making it easier for you to beatmatch.

I can agree with majority of the points mentioned here.

Mixing style wise, cutting the fader, I rarely do unless I'm bout to mess up, but most of the time, you can do a blended mix in drum n bass.  So don't rule that out.

Yes, use the snare, its most used, compare to others as the kick.  Once you get a feel for how drum n bass is made, you can use other elements.  Once that you found the solid groove, beat matched it, you can start at the first and mix during the ambient.  Sometimes though I'll be in the middle of the mix and just want the heavy part of it to continue the momentum that I have going.

Any genre of music, I would listen to my tracks, first starting out, I was always told know your tracks.

Other than that, have fun, use different techniques and create your own.

You can do whatever you want.

Some intros are good for overlapping tracks.

I only skip ahead to find a solid groove to beatmatch to then start over unless I'm in the middle of a mix or high point.


you better   too much good stuff out there.

For any sort of DnB with synths, melodies, etc. in it, starting at the beginning is usually what I like best.  For DnB that literally is mostly just drums and bass (a lot of tech step, like I usually spin), then there are so many different ways to do it that just starting at the beginning and fading the next track in is just being lazy IMO.  Though, many times I will do a lot of cuts in such a way that I'm playing off the phrasing of each track, and then take it back to the beginning for the actual mix.  When done tastefully it adds a very nice touch.  When I get my next mixer (current mixer is fried), I'll have to do a short mix and post it on my xStreamist page for you all to hear.

On that note, you might want to just go see some DnB DJs and just sort of sit & watch and take some mental notes as they work.  I've found that with DnB more than probably any other genre the mix CDs put out by the heavy hitters never sound like they do live, with the one exception I have found being AK1200's Mixed Live CD with MC Navigator.  If you can find that baby, BUY it--in fact buy 2 and I'll buy one off you because mine got scratched to much to play now.  Anyways, I'm just saying that the way the DJs mix live is often much more creative and active than what you'll hear on any CD you buy.