Just a Few Tips!! =)

Some background.....
Right now, I'm mostly a freeroll player usually playing 3 to 5 a day. At first the notion of building a bankroll for free had me interested in it. When I mentioned it to family members though I quickly got told "100 bucks says you can't do it." Two things here. Never give a gambler such open ended odds, and never tell me I can't do something!! lol That being said if it wasn't for this bet I would have abandoned freerolls a loooong time ago!!

Freerolls are beasts unlike any other. Many times you wait and wait to play one only to be seated at the worst possible table you could get. You bide your time and wait for the donks to thin and pick off a few yourself. Enevitably though a few make it on a lucky streak even to the later rounds and your pocket aces get cracked by 23o from the guy thats pushing every hand 3 hours into the tournament.

The Tips....
If you lose half your stack by someone sucking out on you it's hard not to go on tilt. It's easier to do in freerolls too because going on tilt isn't as big a deal as it would be if you were playing a ring game. Or is it?? Any bad habits you pick up can and will transfer!! So to keep me from going on tilt I force myself to type "nh" in the chat. Everytime you do this you're marking the event. What you really mean by "nh" is "OMG keep playing this way when I have hands please" because you WILL end up with his stack when he does. By doing this consciously, next time you get heads up against the same person you'll remember it and put a better read on the person. Also it puts a positive outlook on the hand and you avoid tilt all together.

Next Tip....
So another thing playing any game against sub par players.. At some point you're going to second guess your skill level for one reason or another. What I do to help with this can also help you with your game a ton. After a tournament I open up the hand history and go through looking at all the hands I played and do a self audit on myself. I write basically a commentary including what I was dealt, what actions I made, why I made that action, and also included how much I won/lost on the hand. First time I did this I realized I was unconsciously putting people on hands. Since then I've added it in my decision making process whereas before it was more part of my gut feeling. I've had much better results because of this revalation. Also you can see how many hands you played and spot situations where you should have laid a hand down before you actually did. Stepping back and looking at how you play while you're not at the table can put your game in perspective!!

I hope this little tidbit helps! =)

nice post. but all i know about freerolls is that playing them no good advice works and no amount of concentration or anything else to improve your play helps because it depends on pure luck, meaning at what table u r sitting, what kind of hands u get, how much and when u suffer bad beats which r inevitable and so far. buy-in tournaments is altogether another matter of course. gl

Ty for the response!! =)

That is true.. It's what makes them beasts. There for a while the freerolls had me on the action flop conspiracy theory bandwagon, but on the same note dealing with these issues has improved my game I believe. These tips I think will help most anyone grow as a poker player though. Especially analyzing your sessions afterwards.. =)

I like playing in the freerolls if only for practice. I try to play my normal game but a little more on the aggressive and gambling side than normal. I have a tiny bankroll, but am progressing! I find the freerolls to be a good way to start the day of play with no risk. Kind of like a warm up. I have never won any significant money from one, only change. I still keep playing them though. It is not so much about winning money off of they because time spent at SnG's or ring games is much more profitable, but you can't beat the ROI! It is an excellent habit for you to review and learn from your hands.