Playing Freerolls
Freeroll Poker Tournament Strategy
Just about everyone has a go at the many Freeroll poker tournaments that are out there. They are free (doh).Plus you can get a lot of play out of them and good practise ground for the money tournaments. The no-risk element of freerolls attracts thousands of players and more than a few fish. Playing massive freerolls usually takes a considerable amount of time. Do you have the stamina to sit at a computer screen for all these hours? I played a Limit Freeroll which on starting had just over 6400 players. 3 hours and 58 minutes later it was just me and one other player. The blinds were so big I couldn’t even count the 0’s. But I walked away the winner, or should that be slowly got out of my chair wincing at the pins and needles that was by then in both legs after wading through the empty crisp packets.
Early Freeroll Tournament Strategy
When playing in a regular online poker tournament you are always recommended to play as tight as possible and not risk being busted in the early stages. In a money tournament you wish to progress as slowly as possible and not risk blowing your investment early in the game. Freeroll tournaments on the other hand are completely different. The key is to play smart and loose. Do not play any cards your get and fold when you get garbage but try limping into several pots with a small pocket pair or even suited connecting cards. If you lose the damage is insubstantial and you might get lucky with the board on more than one occasion. In this occasion do not be afraid to double and even triple up. Be careful if you try bluffing. Remember its free and your opponents will call just because it’s not costing them anything and there is always another freeroll around the corner.
If your dealt a high pair (AA, KK and sometimes QQ) try to max on it. You will surprised to see how many people will call your all-in. Players will be much more ready to risk their chips before the flop with only a K8 in their hand than after they will see the board and get disappointed. If you have a solid hand max your profits on it. Remember if you do get beat, go find the next free tournament!. Your goal in this stage is to either accumulate a large stack or move on to the next game. Hundreds of players are going to be knocked out early and most due to beginners mistakes.
Middle Freeroll Tournament Strategy
Assuming you used the above strategy for the first parts of the tournament you should be in a relatively good position by now. Try and get into every pot you think you can win. This does not mean you should play garbage cards or try to draw on the river unlikely hands but play smart and always take into account the position your in. In this part of the tournament you should stick only to raising or folding. There is no sense in just calling other bets. You should be either folding or raising and being prepared to get all your chips in if need be. Only play strong hands and try to either steal the blinds or double up on tight players. Raise aggressively for most of the time but do use judgment and do not bluff unless you see a cert. If a short stacked player gets in the pot and you hold a dominating hand raise him for an all-in. Although knocking players by yourself is not a great idea it might help you in creating an image of a bully. Make weaker players fear and fear being targeted.
Do not get in the middle of others confrontations, let them knock each other out. When players are raising and re-raising each other to the point that one of them is bound to bust out you should get out the way and leave them to it. Generally if there are more than a couple of all-ins and similar large bets you should stay away and fold.
Position is everything on choosing which hands to play. In late positions stick to the top cards (AA, KK, AK) and raise and re-raise constantly, though you should consider folding to all-in re-raises with the AK. From mid positions diversify your play and raise with hands such as AJ, AQ and QQ suited or not. Again, if you are being re-raised, fold. From the early positions limp in to as many pots as possible. Add connecting suited cards all the way down to 98 and consider using suited cards with a one card gap (i.e. QT).
End Freeroll Tournament Strategy
When you have reached the final table, the only thing that determines your strategy – stack size. This is the time to start gaining chips as fast and as much as possible.
Very short stacked
If your going to be all-in by the next round of blinds or near bet. Your down to two options – folding or going all-in. Fold if you see that the remaining players are battling among themselves. Fold if there are more than two or three people on the table and try to wait for a more favourable hand. Go all-in with every pocket pair or high face card and if no one has gone all-in before you. At this point you have nothing to lose so bet aggressively as you can.
Short stacked
You have a couple of new options with this relatively higher stack. In this position you can afford yourself to be a bit pickier with the hands you play. Remember that any move you make will require a big raise or going all-in. Before raising see who already called the hand, the bigger stacks or the short stacks. Remember that it is easier to raise a hand in an early position than call it from a later position. With AA or KK feel free to raise with about a half of your stack or even more. If there is more than one all-in or even one and a call, fold. Limp into the fold with suited connectors but fold if faced with an all-in or a substantial raise fold without a question. Generally limp into pots only if you are trying to squeeze someone for his last chips or if there are two or more other limpers.
Medium stack
This is quite a comfortable position. You can afford yourself to either play like a maniac or play tight as a rock. If you are choosing to play tight you can use the same basic strategy for a short stack but with bigger raises and more aggression. Raise or call every hand you play without hesitation. In conclusion fold with every hand that has very few possible outs but otherwise play with aggression and bully shorter stacks. Playing like a maniac is a less favourable path but it can be very useful under one condition – an extremely tight table. If all other players play tight go wild. Play with any face card, any pair or any connecting cards (even with 1-2 gap). Stop with this strategy as soon as someone will confront you.
Large stack
Bully the shorter stacks without a shame. If you manage to get them all-in then strive to get to a Heads Up position even with bad cards. If someone limps into the flop raise with more than three times the big blind. Do not call big raises of this sort unless you have strong cards. Suited face cards, an Ace with a small kicker and any pocket pair starting with 88 or above should do. It is ideal to be either the first or the last to act and try to selectively avoid raising from the middle. You might be raised and re-raised before you notice. Either set the pace or dominate the hand.
Final 2-5 players
If the other players or attacking each other, let them bust each other out. Do not get into major confrontations without an extremely strong hand (AA or KK). If there are no other aggressive players, attack without shame. You need to have a strong playing image at this time. If there is one thing you cannot afford at this point is being bullied. Play any pocket pair and even face card with raises of more than half your stack.
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