The Joy of Freerolls....

So about an hour ago I finished my 127th freeroll, in that time I've managed to win 30c...

So what am I doing wrong? I've read and reread everything I can find on freerolls and playing in them. I've tried going all-in first hand if I have a good hand and that doesn't work. The by far majority of them I've tried to play conservatively, stealing in good spots and playing good hands. In several I've managed to make it close to the money but by then my stack is usually not healthy enough to survive without stealing and someone at the table is quite honestly doing a better job then me at it so I end up making a coin flip that fails.

I've tired using Holdem Manager which was nice, didn't help much but it was nice. After the trial period ended I got rid of it, if I was going to spend $90 on poker I'd deposit it instead of buying software.

Originally I wanted to build my BR from nothing because my thought was if I can't win the freerolls I won't be good enough when it comes the the real game.

So right now I'm just stuck, looking over my play history I'm not getting any better then I was 100 games ago, although I'm much more frustrated. So guess that's just where I'm at, do I play another 120+ for another 30cents or just call it quits.

I've probably played about the same number of freerolls (I really didn't count; maybe a few more), and I've won over $2000. You need to pick the right ones. I seriously hope you're not just playing public Full Tilt and PokerStars freerolls or something equally silly!

You must be doing something wrong..even if your playing small $50 - $100 freerolls with 1500+ entrants, after playing 127 you should be getting a couple of deep runs.

When I first started I played such freerolls (small pay out and huge fields) and had some success. Now I wouldnt bother and only play bigger freerolls (more cash and less players).

IMO u dont need a HUD, just decent ABC poker. Play tight - Only rly open up pre flop with premiums. See some cheap flops with small pairs and suited connectors. Hopefully u will build a decent stack...but sometimes the big hole cards wont come and you wont hit those flushes. So u end up short stacked....then its coin flip time.

Freerolls are a staple in my poker diet but now I only play in the private ones like the ones here on CC. You get much better competetion and there are fewer total players so your not playing as long and the money when one places is not that bad.

Best freeroll strategy: deposit.

I agree. Most freerolls can be worth the time, but then the smaller participant and higher payout ones are more worth the time. I do find time to play the lesser payout ones for the experience and it tends to improve my game if I watch it carefully. As far as success, I haven't won too many, but eventually you do if you just hang in there. They are not a waste of time and I do think if you have the time and patience you can do well in them.

Meh. You're not alone. I lose a lot to. lol

Dude me and you both been trying to build a decent BR from freerolls like over a year now but yet no sucess never on 1 but made some cashes like 6th or 4th or just barely in the money then i use that money to play real money and lost it all everytime lol i have no adivce for you other than just keep grinding you'll make it 1 day GL.

Yea freerolls are tough unless you play the private ones, I placed 7th last night in the CC FR and went and lost the 7 bucks I won at the 5 and 10 tables, I think I should have gone to bed and saved it for another day. Just be patient and try to play good hands and pay attention to whats going on and try not to go all in with kaka hands. GL!

If your intent is to continue on with freerolls (vs depositing), the best non-private freeroll I've found thus far (thanx to CC) is the:

Satellite to the Ferguson

• Located under 'Play Money'
• Timeframe to register is 10 min prior to the Sat (2310 ET or 1110PM ET) = 2300 ET or 1100PM ET
• Max entrants = 2700
• Top 100 receive $T1 (which can be used towards the Ferguson's entry fee or applied towards any other Real Money tournaments) so top 3.7% places paid.

GL.

Are you getting deep in the freerolls? Do you bubble? I didnt even know its possible to only make 30 cents in a freeroll at full tilt.

+1.

Ferguson strategy: Tight early! Steal when blinds are high!! Stay in middle of field, as long as ur in the middle of the field, ur safe to steal!

The Satellite to the Ferguson probably accounts for 30% of the ones I've done. The USA Freeroll on Fulltilt accounts for a large percentage of the rest. The only two private ones that I seem to qualify for I play when I can which isn't often as they normally run while I'm at work(that's where I picked up the 30c).

I know most of my losses are due to me not playing correctly(I guess that's stupid to say, all loses are do to incorrect play). Either not giving enough credit to opponents or simply not picking the best times to act. The hardest loss I've had so far was a USA freeroll, I had started out good and had gotten 40k+ chips then I went card dead, ended at 25 or so away from payout just because I couldn't get a hand.

the trouble with freerolls , is the fact that its free and alot of players on there play anything because they got nothing to lose . try playing small buy ins you will get a better card game with less donks.

Well after thinking about it for a while I think I'll give up on the none private freerolls. Instead I'm going to focus on the play money nine man SnG's till I get enough to play in the 500k freerolls.

That way I'll get to play a lot and hopefully learn enough to not lose it all first time I sit down to play with cash. Going to stress the "hopefully" part of the last sentence.

Still it's humbling to be told while I cant win at all others can average $15. *sigh*

No one can avg 15 on nonprivate freerolls... thats like second place every time. Its impossible.

If you're referring to me, most of my winnings are from private freerolls, a couple of big $10,000+ "anniversary" freerolls, and winnings from the eSports poker league. (Those were the days...)

As I said, you need to pick the right ones to play. Otherwise you're just wasting your time.

And you're not going to learn anything by reverting to play money! (Nothing useful, anyway.) Private freerolls are your best bet, by far.

Alternatively, try to find some smaller poker rooms with decent freerolls. (Boss/IPN network used to offer some good value. But I haven't played there in a long while. Couldn't tell you what they've got these days...)

I don't think your doing anything wrong really freerolls just take a lot of luck to win. To make it deep into them takes much patience and at least a little bit of luck and good cards. Just have to keep trying and playing. It takes time and dedication.

Freerolls can be profitable BUT it takes a lot of time and patience.

The CC Freerolls are great since they usually only have 140-150 people in them. And very few Donkeys (well just a few )

There are plenty of other 'private' freerolls out there.

The public ones on FTP and PS are way too big but I will admit I started my BR on FT back when the FR's were only 1500 people.
It took many times to cash but eventually I managed to accumulate a small BR and then following the Ferguson BR formula (you can look it up on FT) I brought it up in small increments.

That was about 3 years ago and I am STILL playing on FT with their money!

Good luck

I've done O.K. in freerolls, and I agree with everyone who says look for the smaller sites with smaller entry fields - 7000 people is just way too many as far as I'm concerned. Also, have you considered playing something other than hold'em? Lots of times there are less entrants and even less skill level, plus it's a great way to expose yourself to other games like PLO or Omaha Hi/Lo (if you really feel like twisting your brain for a bit!). Good Luck, don't give up!

i have "graduated" from freerolls and now play games with real bets. i am thankful though that i did freerolls before for experience. it is a nice way to start with poker.