What to do to cash in freerolls?

This weekend I played about 6 freerolls, in four of them i was right on the bubble. It was so frustrating because I kept going card dead. I just ended up getting blinded out. I need help on what to do, so i can actually cash!

You need to post more details of what you think went wrong other than being card dead.

You should never be just blinded out of a tournament, you should at least push when you have less than 6 BBs and hopefully double up or at least steal the blinds/antes.

even when you have 10-15 BBs, try stealing blinds/antes in late position so you can maintain a chipstack. Its clearly better to get a hand like QQ and double up when you are sitting on a stack of 30k rather than 10k

I don't believe there is any secret formula for cashing in freerolls.
I have played very many freerolls, on UB, pokerstars, full tilt, pokerroom, party poker, and in lots of these there are 1 000-10 000 players and only top 100 at best payout- usually top 27 or top 30, or at party poker micro prizes for anything less.
Also, at least a quarter of the people playing are trying hard to finish in the money, so when only 1% of the field is paid and 25% average-to-good- players are playing seriously, the only way to win is to play extremely well, and to have decent luck, well you certainly can't get unlucky often.
The only freerolls where I feel skill is better rewarded is limit games.

Gl, if anyone posts an uber-freeroll-strat here I'll be interested lol.

at this rate ill never be able to play the cardschat freerolls,
ive been signed up here a few months and this is only my 20th post.
awh...

There are 4 "freeroll strategy" threads on page 1 of this board.

IMO - Most freerolls are a total waste of your time for the following reasons:

1. Typically there's no prize money to speak of e.g. Full Tilt $100 freeroll pays $15 top prize and will take approx 3-4 hours of playing.

2. The Kudos of cashing even top 3 in a freeroll is very short lived because a) the prize is so pathetic and b) it means jack because freerolls are not "real" tournaments.

So what possible reason can there be for playing them at all unless they have a big payout.

Far better to stake $10 on a low limit cash table and play tight poker and you'll easily make $10 in about 30 mins.

There are some good freerolls though. For example FT has a newbie freeroll each month and it's awesome. For all people who joined FT this month they get entry into a private freeroll with $10,000 prize money. Obviously if you know how to play poker you will definitely cash because most of the opposition are newbie donkeys. Most of those won't even realise they have entry and will not turn up !! Unfortunately this freeroll wasn't available when I signed up last year

Strategy wise for these decent freerolls you just have to bide your time and play tight aggressive (which is dreadfully boring of course) and make good pots from your good hands. Slowplaying monsters like AA and KK can work very well but can be very risky if there are 3-4 people seeing the flop. On the approach to the bubble you MUST forget about cashing and play as if there was only a 1st place prize. There's nothing worse than sitting back and being passive and just hoping everyone else will fight it out and knock themselves out thereby moving you up. It's a terrible strategy. Play to win or not at all. Get your chips in strong when you have a good hand no messing, no worrying that you might drop out at the last minute, get them in. If you get sucked-out tough luck. Try again next time.

Limping across the line is a failure and you should see it as such. In a "real" tournament with a cash buy-in you can not sustain a profit by just limping over the line, it just doesn't pay enough and you don't get across the line often enough for that to make money. It's a losing proposition.

So, my view is, well before you get to an M of 10 and have to start worrying about making a move, make a move. So with M of 12-16 start making moves. Raise all-in on the button to steal the blinds or do whatever you need to. Make the move early not later when you have M<10 and everyone knows why you are making the move and calls you.

Play to win outright, that's the key.

Good luck

First, do not play right away, let all the noobs lose their money. I feel that you can win the money back that you will lose to blinds, but hold off for the first round or two. Also, you have to play aggressive, but be willing to fold if you aren't sure you have the best hand. Maybe that isn't specific enough...

Some players are more agressive in the bubble, other just wait, with a good tell, in a single hand u can make enough chips for a few more turns.

And there will likely be 4 more here tomorrow. Enough people play freerolls here that they'll keep getting posted, and the same answers will be given over and over again.

1) Freerolls are tough, they're meant to be tough
2) If you're card dead, steal

Once you've cashed in a few of these you get a feeling for where you need to be chipwise to make it over the hump. Once you know what you need then you can plan accordingly. Stealing will only work if you have enough chips remaining to intimidate the potential callers so I'd recommend considering that option sooner rather than later. Once your stack is too low you will get called and pushed on every hand and alas this is when the most frustrating losses occur. The ol 3 7 off beats Kings kind of punishment. So don't wait for that. Instead steal some and adminster a bad beat or two. Your opponents fear alone will land you in the end zone.

I really like what Boston Robber said. You will realize the position you need to be in at different times in the tournaments, whether it be close to itm or at other points in the tournament. You will be able to figure it out, and should have no problem.

Try to weather the all-in storm at the beginning only play very strong or strong hands.Play tight-aggrassive and just hope and pray luck is on your side and take alittle risk now and then it pays off most of the time.

Well it sounds like to me like you play well for the first couple hours when the blinds are lower and your able to see the flop with your strong hands to be able to win the hands to stay in the tournament, but once the blinds rise up you may seem to be reluctant to play your cards.
You have to get out of this mindtrap, after the 2nd break you will need to play any of your top hands aggressivly by raising 3 and 4 times the blinds, even with those 300 and 400 blinds, if you lose so what? The alternative is to bubble plain and simple!

@quincyhawk99 (http://www.cardschat.com/members/quincyhawk99/)

usually while being in the bubble most people are like you, waiting for good cards and not to risk too much or better risk nothing, if you know that, you can probably use it for yourself, just make a move when there is a good spot to do so and steal the blinds even with not holding top cards. its always easier to go aal-in then to call an all-in, try it out, but don't get too greedy ;-)

it's not about the cash, it's about finishing as high as possible. what's 50 cents going to do to your bankroll? Play aggressive and crazy. Freeroll, so nothing lost.

I know the first problem.. You said you went card dead. You should rely so heavily on your cards. U need to focus more on Utility based decisions. And remember your cards are why you will loose. You dont need cards to win.. but you do need them to loose. There are many other better weapons to use in a tournament than your cards.
So Lesson 1- DONT ever say you were card dead again. Because its not possible.

Hope that helps send me a pm if you dont get it.

DonkeySmash

I think this happens to everyone. On an average people play anywhere from 4 to 10 freerolls per day. Freerolls are hard to cash in especially when there are several people in them like FTP they start with 2700. PS starts with 8-10,000.

It is possible you are playing to tight. Or you are playing to loose.

How are you measuring up when it comes down to the bubble. Are you below or over average stack. What kind of hands are you waiting for to play. What kind of people do you have at your table. Do you try and make a play for the blinds and antes at any point. What are you doing preflop when you do get a set of cards to play (what are you betting allin or just raising)

Without answer to the above questions it's hard to say why you are always bubbling.

Personal experience when close to the bubble anything can happen. You can get donked easily.

there is not just one way to cash in a freeroll or any tourney for that manner... Just stick what works, stealing blinds late in tourneys is key also when the blinds get big and it get close to the money people are more likley to be tight

lol you should never get blinded out in a tourny

your problem might be your so scared to be the bubble boy you just try to sit back and make the money when your almost there your scared to play your cards cause you want some money but you cant play like that or you will never win a tourny

dont be scared to push all in against the big stack with average hands cause he knows everyone is trying to make the money and is always stealing alot of blinds

in freerolls the key is to see as many hands as soon as it starts as you can, up untill the blinds hit 25 50. the reason i say this is because the blinds are inexpencive when it starts usaulyy 5/10 and to see a flop for 10 in a freeroll and get something like 2 pair, or a bunk straight like u have 57 suited no raise preflop and the flop comes out 468. its a hand you would not call when blinds are 25/50 or 50 100 but you will make good money for cheap price, plus its a freeroll

Unless I get AA or KK in the first 10 hands or so I just sit back and let the donks knock each other out with the neverending all ins. It just doesn't pay to try to call or raise until then,that's when poker starts. As for the kind of freerolls, I don't waste my time with the $15 top prize. If you play 4 hours and win $15 it's just not worth it. I make a lot more working than $3.75 and hour, so play the freerolls with entry to a bigger cash tournament or the WSOP ones they have right now. They have a 225(top 2 advance) and a 450(only 1st place wins) man freeroll going on right now, I just don't see the point of the 450 man though. You beat 449 guys and win or you can beat 223 and the top 2 get entry to round 2. Beat twice as many guys and no prize for 2nd? As for the bubble it's just like any other tournament. Play hard and bully the ones in position when you can.

Just deposit and play real poker. The amount of work you put in a free roll is about equal to a easy satellite and a good sized tournament. The good sized tournament could win you thousands, instead of a few pennies in a free roll.

It seems you are being patient already so that's out of the way. To be completely honest, you have to get lucky. If you're going card dead then that most of the time means your luck is down. You have to get lucky to get far in a tournament. Be patient & your luck will come @ the right moment. GL

Its kind of luck partner... Play tag at the beggining. Then later on loosen up and hope the cards fall your way.. To many people in the tournament for you too win too many of these things. And when you are about ten bb left it really doesnt matter what cards you have. Just get good position like the button or SB when you are opening the pot and go all in... You are 50/50 with about any two against one guy... If you get lucky u double up... well good luck man...

If we are not card dead, but just devoid of pocket pairs or any hand considered decent to very good, do we try to play with them, or just be patient and wait for a good, semi-strong to strong hand to come up? (IE play a 25 and try to bluff another player out after isolating them). Or shove to try to steal blinds when I have a mid-stack.

Sometimes, the blinds rise really quickly, and I am losing lots of money to blinds and antes, but just don't receive cards that I deem good. This is the case most of the time when I cannot find situations to bluff (when I am sitting between people with much more chips than me).