How do you play a freeroll tournament when there are only 4 live players?

I have played in freeroll tournament when there are only 4 live players. I tried to only play quality hands but when the winning hands are 2 7 offsuit and 3 9 offsuit it just makes me wonder if I should be going in with any hand. I don't like hearing "Hee Haw" in my head but I am wondering if there is a way to play that I am missing. I understand about position and hands but what do I do? Any help is really appreciated.

Do you mean when there are only 4 players playing at the table and the rest are sitting out?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong--others are just getting lucky! And I've found that alot of the time it's best to just fold the first hand as SOMEBODY is goin' all in with nothing! Unless, of course, I have a sweet hand--My favorite being NOT A/A, but A/King suited---ALOT more opptions! Where as A/A there's only ONE option--NOBODY ELSE HAS ANYTHING IN THE PKT THAT CAN BEAT THEM! 'Cuz SOMEBODY usually will cal! And with A-K suited, I have ALOT of differnt outs to beat THEM! But if I were you, I'd continue to play yer best poker---just like you have been! GL!

i would just pick my spots. as long as the blinds are low, resist the temptation to enter a lot of pots. you can wait for a solid hand. let the other 3 jokers play whatever junk they want. since they are playing more hands than you, when you wake up with a monster, you are more than likely gonna get paid off.

AK suited is better than AA for you ? With AK s all in vs pair, you are only 50/50 and in freerolls that lotteries has big influence... And about trash hands- always avoid it , i prefer even not try steal blinds with it, do it with some potent hands like K 10, A 5...

I know this is wrong,"BUT" "BUT" raise preflop and if you get called by someone whojust say down,well you'll onlyu be giving back the blind you stole. I know that's bad, BUT when u and another guy that folded his hand are the only live players, you kinda don't want to fold as well, we have all been there, and I'll be honest sometimes I'll play a hand all the to the river as to give the absent player a chance to get there, but in the end, who wants to pass up chips.

I know I'm not alone in this................ or am I.

imho
if i'm low on chips i just play strong hands, i will eventually try to double up with a coinflip if i got a decent hand and at least 2 others fold. Sometimes this give me the chance to reach 3rd or 2nd place as others could kill thamselves.
I'm i'm chipleader or 2nd high stake with 2x or more chips of 3rd i will try to play/steal blinds with marginal hands, obviously if nobody before me raise too much.

Many times I have been in this situation, pick your moments, usually the blinds are small and you can wait to take out the idiot trying to buy off every pot. A number of times I have chatted with the other players and just taken turns robbing blinds. Most are agreeable to taking turns getting them until the table busts.

In a freeroll tournament over the weekend with over 400 entrants, I was at a table of ten with only ONE other live player. He was stealing blinds like crazy and I took him out and started doing the same.

It took quite a while for another live player to be added (or show up) as it was only sitters there. I was stealing as fast as I could just to get a live player at the table!

I ended up 6 or 7. My own playing suffered due to the endless blind stealing.

If you mean that there was only 4 live players at your table and the rest was setting out than I would try to only play quality hands unless your in the blind and no one raises then I might try and buy the pot with some crappy cards.

I will go against what most people have said here. You should be loosening way up with only 4 players playing and 5 sitting out. The more hands you play, the more your expected value us because of the large amount of dead money in the pot.

I usually play tight intill I get a bunch of chips and then I switch gears and become more aggressive.

The sit out is something I never dealt with until playing on the internet. At first it drove me nuts especially in a limit game with raise,raise and raise again going on. It turns into showdown (no skill involved). Then I played on a table with only 3 live players and the player to my right kept folding into me and 4 sit outs. I even tried to explain it to the other two so we could split up the blinds until another player came. They didn't understand and I eventually ended up with all their chips without even raising into them. It was one of those top 99 make a $2,000 freeroll and those chips got me into the freeroll. I only made 60cents in the freeroll, but it was the first time the sit outs actually helped me.

First of all trying to split the blinds with everyone is very against the rules and it will most certainly get you banned if you ever get caught doing it. This applies to any agreement with other players including saying "check it down" when someone is all in because it constitutes conspiracy to gain an unfair advantage.

Aside from that, sitters are great for a MTT because they are the best source of cash. I like to have 6 sitters in the middle stages of a tourney and be raking in their blinds by playing LAG. At a STT, they are simply annoying but in the end they are still good for your EV so learn to live with it

With only 4 live players, I play the table as I would a short-handed table, that is being more loose with hands and play hands that are lower in value and less connected.

It is also much easier to bully the other live players because they tend to be more inclined to hold out for good hands and you can, for the most part, raise 3xBB and win most of the pots, if another player tries to fight you, you can be sure he has a good hand.

wow i see a lot of people saying they would play tight and wait for quality hands...

why?

theres a couple good reasons to loosen up.
#1 being that theres FREE CHIPS in the pot with no one to contest them
#2 ure playing 3 other people u should be able to get reads and play back
#3 u dont know if u will be moved away from these free chips
#4 the odds on hands change a 10,jS or 8,9S becomes highly playableand profitable against a donkey who has ace rag and doesnt know how to fold it on a 9 hi board. granted he still has the over but hes drawing to a 3 or 6 outer if u make ure top pair. and 4 handed ure more worried about pairs then u are kickers.

theres a real opportunity here that u get to build a chipstack so that when u get moved to a 9 handed game where people are playing later in the trny u have the chips to sit and wait for that quality hand or u can gamble and hope to make a superstack before the first break.

I have been in this situation a few times in freerolls and always try and take the most aggressive player out...I will play back at them and even if I have to get it all in pre with a weak holding it's worth it to me to be able to steal the blinds..the position of the sitting out players and position of the most aggressive stealer is a big factor as to how crazy I will get to try and knock that person out so I can do the stealing

I always play it like its 4 handed...that means loosening up a lot. Raise with marginal hands and hope to steal the blinds or take it down on the flop. I could be wrong though :/

Thank you all for your input and suggestions. I have since changed the way I play a freeroll with sitters. I am more aggressive and do raise regardless of the hands dealt. Most fold and those that do not, I eventually fold myself knowing they have a made hand. Of course I do go back to playing only quality hands when more live players join the table. Taking the blinds has increased my win rate in a freeroll allowing me the ability to go into the final table with a huge chip lead.

wee, i think you've found the right balance.

You should not be nervous.
u aren't playing a sit and go to 3-4 people, but a tournament with 400 other participants.

No matter their stack or their attitude, but UR STACK in relation to the level of the tournament.

I'd play as aggressive as I could to pick up the pots as cheaply as I could. It won't take long to learn how the rest of the 4 are playing, and you can then adjust accordingly. (set a trap for another aggressive player)