playing freerolls

i disagree where you say dont get all in with AA AK AQ or AJ aft.er you double up. you are most likely ahead at that point, although i would tend to fold AJ most of the time. all you can do is get your money in while you are ahead, and hope you dont get sucked out on. yes, suckouts happen, but you played it right if you got your money in while you were a winner. given, a lot of people will push with a straight or flush draw, and yes, they have 8 outs, but theres still more cards in the deck that help you more than hurt. in freerolls, people push all the time when they have medium pocket pairs or any face cards, and you will usually be ahead with AA AK KK and sometimes AQ. the thing that i stress the most is get the money in while you are the favorite. if you do that, it will help you more than hurt you because you are not gonna get sucked out on every single time.

Play very tight and only premium hands at the beginning of freerolls, never bluff and if u miss the flop and a person bets fold.
at the beginning of a tournament you can not win it, but you can lose it.

because of that in some cases i sit out the first 30 minutes.

I have to control myself and play very tight for the first part of the tourney. though getting AA you really can't fold even if there are 4-5 others all in. I've had that happen several times and sometimes I get beat but other times I'm way up and can coast til the lotto players are gone.

Your right about it being a freeforall oooops freeroll for the first hour! I love catching people going all in with nothing, I have been getting better, finishing in the money a few times, but alot of times in the two hundred range. Thats pretty good out of 2700, started playing two years ago, let me know what you think!

The first 30m of freerolls can be very frustrating at first, but after awhile you learn to just fold yes I have folded KK and QQ in this situation. When the all in nuts fold though I will play a hand or two hoping to isolate on them knowing since they just called or checked earlier they have nothing. Any ace or pair goes all in so you know your not against that. A few small pots pay for the blinds and you can still play when the tables get tighter.

it is really hard to get to the money in freerolls. what you need to do is survive until the 1st break, after this most of the donk players are already out. i usually play tight during the early stages.. but once the blinds increase to 100+ this is where i start to play different hands and try to steal pots(but not by goin' allin unless i've seen preflop and makin' it sure i have the best hand). careful betting and sizing up your opponents is what i do in mid stages. late stages with high blinds 1000+ is the time to steal blinds with considerable hands but not goin' allin too. this is when you really have to be keen on the players on your table... study them well and note the cards they play on showdowns. it would help you a lot in making the right decisions should you against them in the run.

but then again... its just for me.

I use to play tight in the beginning, but I also try and build a bigger stack here also. I would never fold AA, KK, etc. preflop. I try and take advantage of the pre-flop raisers when I believe I got the upper hand!

I play freerols tight in the beginning, but not too tight that I can't build a decent stack. I try and take advantage of premium hands I get. You gotta love and hate the donk though.

What I do in freerolls is basically wait for a premium hand, AA KK QQ AKs and then when some donk raises in front of me I push back all in and they will probably call and be behind, or else they fold and you still win a good pot.

By the way, simpleman31 thats the biggest spam for posts Ive ever seen. Theres something called the edit button. You should have edited the third post into your second post atleast but a triple post?!?!

play tight and only premium hands at the begining looser in the middle and tight ITM at the end is my philosopy or atleast it should be!!

what you saying? dont play first 30 for thats when its the most profitable and you get rid of those players playing anything it hurts worst when you get a couple of hours in it and then get beat with 2 9 when you got A A (trust me i know)

If it's a freeroll that's open to all, I play tight. If it's a smaller, private field with better players, I have a tendency to play to steal as many pots as I can. I'm not saying raise with garbage, but be aggressive preflop with a decent drawing hand. And, oh yes, be willing to rin away from the rogue, all in donk that may show up!!

My play varies depending on the payouts, but I feel you need more luck after the 1 or 2 hour break than you need at the start of the tourney. You can play extremely tight (No Limping with marginal hands just to see the flop) and make it pretty far. Heck, you can sit out the first 30-45 minutes on Full Tilt and still have a playable stack.

Don't forget freerolls are an investment of your time. Study the table & don't play tired.

I like to see the flops at the beginning of a freeroll! It is a good time to catch the donks betting big with AK. They think that AK is the best hand even after the flop and/or turn and they don't even have a pair.

Play tight early until the lottofest is over. I've seen5 people all in on the first hand several times. Sometimes seeing all the money there I'll gamble if I have any kind of hand at all.

I have found in the first hour play tight, like has been mentioned. Make sure you have a good starting hand and after that if you don't have it, don't call or bet it. The hands will come without chasing. Chasing is where I seem to lose more.

To play hands premius at the beginning and to wait donkeys and maniac if only to face;

Find the best strategy to try a ITM

I dont think you have to get lucky in the first thirty minutes - you start with enough chips to make it past the first thirty minutes even if you dont play any hands - I would just say not to play lotto like everyone else - bet when you have a good hand - otherwise, wait out the lotto players and then play

gotta get a few good rolls in the first hour.. everyone goes all in.. settles down as it approaches the cash..

you don't have to be lucky, just play tight and solid early just like you should in any tourney and you will be ok.

i totally agree with you that you really need to be very lucky to win a freeroll being a tight player will only make you stay longer in the game but without luck you end up losing.

I like to atleast see the flop at the beginning of a freeroll when the blinds are small. As long as no one gets too crazy I think it's worth 20 to 40 chips to see the flop. It's really fun if u play like a 7/2 and beat someone with pocket a's that did'nt raise before the flop. They sure do get angry. LOL

As everyone else has said don't be afaid to be tight early--just be careful in turbo tounaments as the blinds get high fast. I've made that mistake before. Also don't call hugh preflop raises--but do try to see as many flops as possible even if it means staying with less favorable hands.

I think tight is best also in the first 30 minutes or so. Premium hands (AA-KK,QQ-AKs) should be played aggressively no matter what stage of the tourney. Nevertheless, a lot is dependent on the activity of the table. A lot of raising and re-raising at the table for me means being quiet unless I have premiums; if more quiet and limpers, speculative hands are played, like pocket pairs and suited connectors.

I agree with a lot that is being said, except I think you have to build your stack in the first hour or you get bought out of every pot later. I think you have to except luck is a huge factor early and only play high percentage hands. Chances are somebody might go all-in on garbage and then beat your decent hand by catching a flush on the river but that's poker!