How to Succeed in Online Freerolls

#**106** 01-11-2007, 10:40 PM

Great advice! When i first started playing online poker (about a month ago) i cashed in twice in a row in the pokerstars 100$ exclusive freeroll but haven't had any luck since then. My main frustration is that more often then not im being moved to a table where more then half the players are sitting out. Then im left as the shortstack to battle it out with a couple of bigger stacks. I found that the key then is to wait it out and try and double up on them so you get moved again.

I fear my main problem in freerolls however is the lack of patience and concentration. After a while (today i finished 1000ish out of 3200) i chase straights and flushdraws and get punished by a bigger stack with a monster. I'll certainly take these tips to heart and try my luck again tomorrow. Find my at the final table of the FT 100$ freeroll max. 2700 hopefully

.

#**107** 03-11-2007, 5:53 PM

I think your goal is the right one
Hopely I get it also
TY
GL on the tables all!

#**108** 04-11-2007, 5:14 PM

tHANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE ADVICE

#**109** 07-11-2007, 8:21 PM

Very good advice on the freerolls, thats how i usually play

#**110** 07-11-2007, 9:53 PM

no disrespect intended but aren't u the character "hiro" from heros, the show, If not u look alot like him, favourite character by the way, sry once again, but I swear u look alot like him

#**111** 09-11-2007, 2:30 AM

9. Avoid hesitation.
If you hesitate before you make your move then it is seen as a sign of weakness. In online poker freerolls you can't watch your opponent's reaction or see them sweat and one of the few "tells" that you have is the speed at which your opponent makes his move. The worst sin here is to hesitate for a while then check, you have just told the table you don't have a hand but you want to see the next card. You will simply be raised straight out of the hand.

Interesting...This exactly the opposite of a favorite move for me. I'f have the nuts at this point I kind of like a short pause (depending on the players seated). Often times they see me as week and over bet, then they are mine.........

#**112** 09-11-2007, 7:17 AM

I'm a little disappointed this wasn't posted earlier.. I could have a fortune if I had known this years ago.. (Partly joking)

This really applies to all tournaments.

#**113** 09-11-2007, 3:16 PM

It is great advice, however, with all the bad beats I have become very cautious of being too over aggressive even with a good hand. The hands that win are unreal sometimes. I guess it all depends on who is having the lucky day.

#**114** 09-11-2007, 3:41 PM

nice write up!

#**115** 09-11-2007, 9:44 PM

Sounds like a big help! Freerolls are all about being patient.

#**116** 09-11-2007, 10:05 PM

nice post. i'll try them for sure.

#**117** 10-11-2007, 4:14 PM

Very good information thanks for the advise

#**118** 11-11-2007, 7:29 AM

great advice dude! very usefull for freeroll players!
one thing i learned is do not hesitate to call if you have a good
hand especially when you're near the final table. it pays off
really good when smoke them! its just a freeroll after all... you
can get them again anytime you want without losing any money.
cheers!!!

#**119** 11-11-2007, 1:38 PM

thats not just online thats all poker

#**120** 12-11-2007, 1:58 AM

Since I posted here in September 07 I have been in many more freerolls for the Aussie ticket at Full Tilt Poker and my experience has been a mixed bag. Playing tight is good but leaves me with small stacks that are rolled over by the big stacks on the final table. Also, I have suffered recently with long periods without seeing anything but rags. That make it hard to get anywhere in the tourney. Maybe it is some cycle we all have to endure?

#**121** 13-11-2007, 4:18 AM

Yea it must be a cycle the same thing has been happening to me lately.

#**122** 14-11-2007, 6:02 PM

thank you verry much i am going to try some

#**123** 14-11-2007, 7:39 PM

Patience does seem to be the KEY to poker..... and have alot of chips to avoid getting kicked out of the tourny when someone runs you down.

#**124** 14-11-2007, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t1riel

Here's an article on ways to succeed in online freerolls. I thought it might be helpful. A couple of tips might be questionable. Hope you enjoy it:

Online Poker Freerolls are a unique breed amongst poker tournaments and require a certain way of playing in order to succeed. Here are 6 top tips that will help you succeed in online poker freeroll tournaments.

1. Be patient.
I've put this rule first as I believe patience is the number one most important quality required to do well in the freerolls. One important point to bear in mind is that freerolls usually have hundreds of entrants and can take several hours to complete. If you want to be there at the final table you will need to be very patient.

2. Be Aggressive.
Freerolls are multi-table tournaments and you will usually be seated at a table of ten all the way through the tournament. This is a good thing in a way as it means you don't need to adjust your play to suit a shorter table, but it does mean that when you do have a good hand you need to play it aggressively. Top pairs like Aces and Kings should always be raised strongly pre-flop as they can often come unstuck after the flop. Whenever you get a good hand, ie a high pair or AKs, AQs, you must be aggressive.

3. Play less hands.
As well as being aggressive you need to be controlled and play less hands. Don't be tempted to play hunches, sit tight and wait for the good hands then play them aggressively. A good rule of thumb is to throw away any hand that contains a card that's lower than an eight.

4. Use your table position.
If you are first or second in the betting, a King 10 isn't a very good hand. There are nine players to follow you and if any of them have a pair or an Ace or a King with Queen or Jack then you are struggling. However if you are at the end of the betting and you can "limp in" with a call or check, then your KT becomes an altogether better prospect. Nobody has raised yet so your King might be good and it is certainly worth seeing the flop.

5. Vary your play.
Although you need to be patient and wait for a good hand, don't become too predictable. If you only play the big hands and always raise then your opponents will simply back down and let you take the blinds. The trouble with this is you won't be winning enough in blinds to keep your head above water as you are playing too few hands. You need to vary your style of play and become hard to read.

6. Avoid bluffing.
Bluffing should be avoided, except on very rare occasions. As there are always ten people at the table there is a very high chance that someone will have a good hand each time and will want to go against you, even if you go all in. All in on a bluff is almost suicidal at the online poker freerolls, there's nearly always somebody prepared to call you and you have little chance of surviving.

7. Watch your opponents and learn their playing style.
You can learn a lot of valuable poker information just by watching your opponents at the table. Do they bet almost every hand, do they sit back and wait for a good hand (like you!), do they fold easily at the first sign of a raise, do they just want to see a free card, is there a "maniac" who raises every hand?

8. Concentrate on the game.
If you want to find out how your opponents play, you need to concentrate fully on what you're doing. Don't write emails while your playing or surf other sites, and turn off that TV!

9. Avoid hesitation.
If you hesitate before you make your move then it is seen as a sign of weakness. In online poker freerolls you can't watch your opponent's reaction or see them sweat and one of the few "tells" that you have is the speed at which your opponent makes his move. The worst sin here is to hesitate for a while then check, you have just told the table you don't have a hand but you want to see the next card. You will simply be raised straight out of the hand.

10. Don't chase draws.
It can be very tempting when you see that you have a straight draw, (eg you've got a 6 7 and there's a 5 and 8 in the flop) but the reality is that this hand rarely produces a winner. If you can see the other cards free or for a cheap call then by all means take a look, but remember at this point you have absolutely nothing and your opponents have almost certainly got at least a pair.

11. Remember that your opponents will play different cards from you.
Just because you are doing everything right doesn't mean that they will too! People will play all sorts of hands, especially in an online poker freeroll and you can expect some crazy bad beats. Particular attention should be paid to the possibility of straights, if there are three cards on the table like 5 6 8 for example, there's a good chance somebody might be playing with a 7 4!

12. Treat the freerolls seriously.

Although you're not investing any money to take part in the online poker freerolls, you are investing a chunk of your time so take them seriously. They are a good training ground for learning poker tournament skills and to win one is a very good achievement. Not to mention you will win some money!

thanks for the info

#**125** 15-11-2007, 12:12 AM

Think of all the rep I COULD be getting!

#**126** 16-11-2007, 3:06 AM

This is great advice. Except that whenever i get AK, i always seem to lose, even when i raise to 2 or 3 times the stake. I tend to do well on AQ or AJ though....

#**127** 17-11-2007, 10:52 AM

I've won a few freeroll tournaments with fields above 2500 people. All I did was go all-in on the 4 top hands, AA KK KA QQ. This way I built up a decent stack which allowed me to play "normal" poker after the break. Of course you do get the odd time these hands will lose, but most of the time they do hold up.

#**128** 18-11-2007, 5:04 AM

The advice is something that really helps. Playing solid hands is important especially when there are more than 2000 people playing and at least half tend to play very loose during the first hour of play.

#**129** 18-11-2007, 6:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowpoke

I've won a few freeroll tournaments with fields above 2500 people. All I did was go all-in on the 4 top hands, AA KK KA QQ. This way I built up a decent stack which allowed me to play "normal" poker after the break. Of course you do get the odd time these hands will lose, but most of the time they do hold up.

Interesting concept, but there are some tourneys I might never have played one hand in. I've gone several hours into some MTTs and only had one of those "top 4 hands" once or twice max. Hard to build a stack that way. Good luck -- you get them more than I do...

#**130** 18-11-2007, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adventurebound

9. Avoid hesitation.
If you hesitate before you make your move then it is seen as a sign of weakness. In online poker freerolls you can't watch your opponent's reaction or see them sweat and one of the few "tells" that you have is the speed at which your opponent makes his move. The worst sin here is to hesitate for a while then check, you have just told the table you don't have a hand but you want to see the next card. You will simply be raised straight out of the hand.

I do this all the time when I have a good hand so I can trap people like you.

#**131** 18-11-2007, 11:31 AM

some good advice and a lot of nice feedback,I enjoyed this topic,I don't do bad in placement,could always do better though,Daniel Negreanu said:
"The day you quit learning ,will be the day you fall behind in your game"And I truly believe that.

#**132** 18-11-2007, 6:38 PM

Thanks a whole bunch for that info,, I already figured out a few of those tips but you taught me quite a bit that I didn't think of. Very informative,, again,, Thanks
Mike

#**133** 19-11-2007, 12:54 PM

I have also use top hand to build a large stack the first hour,or above avg.stack,but you must remember this is the time you will be called by all kinds af hands hoping for a dubble up,DO OR DIE!(sometimes it workeds,sometimes it don't !),players will try a lot of weird hand for that quick dubble,myself I have found, it's better to bet a good raise,and work it from post-flop, seeing how I can allway fold if in trouble,this seems to be the time, that you will lose "MOSTER HANDS" to 3-9os,suited connectors,GETTING SPIKED SMALLER PAIRS,and just about any garbage hand you can think of.

Don't take me wrong,but some time I think players thinks: just because they are 78% favorite that they are going to win 78% of their hands in a tourney,and It just don't work like that,I had a great player tell me once that,you might be and 80%fav. and odds are on you side ,but if called,you only have a 50-50 chance preflop,and that makes sence to me.

For instance 2-7 versus A-A,ODDS are 2-7 will win 12% of the time,so if 2-7 went up against A-A 88 times and lost every time are you guarenteed a win the 89th time? NOPE!,Its still just a 50-50 chance.so when I have a moster pair and I FIRE AWAY,like I can't be beat,I simple look at it like, Im at least going to lose 20% of the time,Im sure it will pan out in the long run,but any time you are putting all your chippys on the table,you are subject to lose..

Well this way a verry good read,and I agree with most of it,and liked the feedback.

#**134** 19-11-2007, 3:01 PM

i'll try it and see what happens. thank you

#**135** 21-11-2007, 10:22 PM

I'd like to add that you can "over" value bet and get paid a lot of times. This is sort of hand in hand with "be aggressive" and "avoid bluffing". Bets that would make other people fold (post flop here) in any other tournament will get called in a freeroll, so you can really pick up a lot of chips when you have a big hand. Don't be coy and try to slowplay a big hand like a set: you WILL get paid, so bet big!

#**136** 22-11-2007, 2:04 PM

I found this info good reading and having merit, however I also found it woefully short on the subject of dealing with all in's by most players in first few hands of tourney.

Free rolls create a different mindset because they are free. It is funny, every table, every hand, there is someone or many, who will go all in to try to obtain the advantage of a large stack, since the cost is nothing. BUT just go into a tournament that costs even only 1.00 and there are almost no all ins at beginning. Isn't a dollar close to zero, LOL? But it does make a difference when people have to invest versus playing for free. I would have just enjoyed this article more if there was more focus on this specific point since it is somethng we ALL encounter EVERY time we play.

#**137** 23-11-2007, 1:42 AM

Great article, thanks a lot!

#**138** 23-11-2007, 1:54 PM

i did read this article somewhere a while ago, i can not remember know but i can say this ; tight aggressive style will not work for you at the freerolls , at most you will be the shortstacked at the final table and , you will be ante yourself to the death. Observe that who plays so loose-aggressive they will be top 5. key thing is this; be loose,be maniac at some points but you must know when you got beat, throw that hand away, its so though to master though , i have cashed 4 times in 10 freerolls on Full Tilt Poker this week but not major

#**139** 24-11-2007, 12:33 PM

Lots of good advice here == much of it matches what I've observed as well.

#**140** 25-11-2007, 3:51 PM

This was a really good thread man. I learned a lot and this information will come in handy in the upcoming freerolls I'll be playing. I just got back into Poker and have been playing many freerolls lately.

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