that's just it, the $4 isn't real and HAS TO be spent if it's to be turned into real money. i can see why it's not so popular with its buggy, slow interface, but it's what i started out playing and where i have actual winnings to work with.
i recently started playing america's card house based on its popularity, but so far, i've only got close to winning there once. the things i don't like about that site are fewer freerolls that you can actually join (why i joined here, so i could play cardschat $100), there are fewer spots that pay AND the pots are smaller. that, and it seems really hard to play there as one draws dead so much there. i really like the smooth and fast interface with instant access to standings though.
it's hard to build a stack at card house when only 10 spots pay out, and the top spot is only $2.50. so far, i've won $1.50, $3 & $4 at betonline and wasted the first two stacks on rebuys and add ons and played a couple really cheap sit & goes.
i'm not used to all of the options on what to play. back in the day, i mostly played 90 player play money sit & go at
pokerstars and since i've started playing again, try to play the $50+ freerolls at BO for most chances to place. as to "liking" one tournament over another, i don't have a preference other than playing whatever gives me the best chances to stack up whether it's putting all of the chips in one single table freezeout or playing a lot of cheap 3,000 player gigs. what i've done so far is to try and play 30-50 cent games so i don't put all of my eggs in one basket, but 3 hours is a lot of time to invest with a lot of opportunity to draw dead or get bad beaten
I don't think you're supposed to tell us the way you play
i'm not worried about it. the chances of us meeting over the board are slim and i'm ALWAYS flashing my cards because i like to use a tight table image for intimidation purposes discouraging rats from drawing on me though a lot of donks don't learn though and always thing their J7 offsuit is going to own you, and i DO have other gears if i see a weak or timid player, i loosen up. i like projecting a
"don't test this dude, he's not bluffing or chasing rag kickers" image but back in the day, i was a long baller. too many stupid people who don't know when to fold 'em pulling rabbits out their butts to longball now in my experience. projecting a tight image makes it that much easier to pull a
bluff off in a tight spot, and THEN i like to flash the bluff to confuse and rattle players. the last player i flashed a bluff to about lost his mind. heh heh heh a rattled player is a sloppy player and then returning back to tight play takes advantage of the bluffer image.
honesty at the table isn't necessarily the worst policy either. a few years back at pokerstars, this chick would tell everyone what she had every hand and never lied. i don't know if it had a reverse psychology effect, or if some people are just REALLY stupid, but she actually did quite well as her stack grew and grew. it was so funny watching people who should know they're beat getting actually beat over and over again unable to adjust to the reality of an opponent HELPING the competition. it was funny to watch. i took her at her word myself.