Why are freeroll donkeys the way they are?

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cuffslurp

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Why are freeroll donkeys the way they are? :confused:

Think about it. When you play a game of chess with people - no matter what their skill level is - they'll still try to play good. But when it's freeroll poker, people suddenly play like ... donkeys. Seriously, what is up with that?

The stats on my freshly configured HUD shocked me: people were playing 75%-100% of their starting hands, and going all the way to showdown about 50% of the time. 50%! That's like 4-5 people playing through the whole hand almost every time!

Why do people need financial punishment to stop playing bad poker? Why don't they take the game seriously? :mad:
 
TheseNutsWin

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It's freeroll what do you expect? i used to think the same way, now i dont even bother... I think the only freeroll people would probably play normal (and still would find idiots ) would be something like this.. First place wins wsop seat package 2-9 get money over $1000. Then maybe people playing those would care to try to win something genuine.. BUT if i have to play against 12k people to win 5$ do i really care? not unless i`m trying to win this $5 so that i can start playing real money with that.. But majority of the people play in those just for fun.. some times their intentions are to go and **** around with people.. lol it's just how it is....
 
TheUndertaker

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They play stupid because they have nothing to lose and the funny thing about it is they always win with the worst hand possible why i don't really know.THOSE IDIOTS
 
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cuffslurp

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First place wins WSOP seat package 2-9 get money over $1000. Then maybe people playing those would care to try to win something genuine..

What is so different about poker that people don't care about winning unless they'll earn money? It's like winning isn't enough. :confused:
 
crispchris

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i have won thousands of $ in the past yr and i always start with a freeroll to start my bank. i have been called a donkey so many times in freeroll play its funny to me. i Do play loose in a freeroll i Will make calls in a freeroll. i want to know where i stand in a freeroll very fast when theres 3000 ppl. and i know that i may be loose in a freeroll but 20% of the others are just crazy. and maybe 7% are in there first online game. it is a freeroll after all and theres 1 evry hr. i do admitt ppl in freerolls really really bother me as well. lol its like driven thrue a thick fog at times....................
 
PokerPete

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Think about it. When you play a game of chess with people - no matter what their skill level is - they'll still try to play good.

Hmmmmmm..... guess you never ran into a "chess donkey"... one who never looks at what the other might be doing... just there pieces and their plan... and they plod along thinking their "playing well"(well my brother always puts his knight here and he always wins).... the difference is that they can't pull a magic one out miracle when you have them in mate in three :D.... and they never have that "lucky day" when their two pawns accidently take out both of your rooks and your queen.... so they give up or learn... no sense in playing the same poor way with the same poor outcome everytime.

People who can't grasp that there might just be an advatage to "knowing" what the other guy "might have" without seeing have to call every bet just to "see" what you have.... (hmmm I got a pair of kings and there isn't an ace out there... he must be bluffing.... oh... look... I hit a flush too! I have a pair of kings and a flush!)
 
Divebitch

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Think about it. When you play a game of chess with people - no matter what their skill level is - they'll still try to play good. But when it's freeroll poker, people suddenly play like ... donkeys. Seriously, what is up with that?

Why do people need financial punishment to stop playing bad poker? Why don't they take the game seriously? :mad:

You answered you own question. Because it's a freeroll, and there is no financial punishment, just a waste of time. You cannot bluff anyone in chess, so not the best analogy.

What is so different about poker that people don't care about winning unless they'll earn money? It's like winning isn't enough. :confused:

To many, IMHO, winning is all about earning money, and the ends justify the means. Although bluffing and aggression depending on position, reading opponents, etc is a respected skill, freerolls are different animal, and no one is willing to invest the time to play the 'right way', or play as though is was real money. I don't know about NLHE, but of the freerools I've played at poker stars, where the top 88 might qualify for same round 2 ticket, many past the bubble have pride in their play of the game, and play very well to the bitter end.
 
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empirejeff

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You answered you own question. Because it's a freeroll, and there is no financial punishment, just a waste of time. You cannot bluff anyone in chess, so not the best analogy.



To many, IMHO, winning is all about earning money, and the ends justify the means. Although bluffing and aggression depending on position, reading opponents, etc is a respected skill, freerolls are different animal, and no one is willing to invest the time to play the 'right way', or play as though is was real money. I don't know about NLHE, but of the freerools I've played at Poker Stars, where the top 88 might qualify for same round 2 ticket, many past the bubble have pride in their play of the game, and play very well to the bitter end.

playing the right way in those poker stars freerolls and such is kind of a wsast of time. Make the top 88 or bust, you win nothing for middle ground

And you lose nothing

That kind of only applys to NL freeroll sort of. Goodluck doing that in limit. Well some hands you can go crazy if you have a chance to win.

I love the razz part of horse and 8 game mix freerolls. I win lots of chips.
 
Divebitch

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playing the right way in those poker stars freerolls and such is kind of a wsast of time. Make the top 88 or bust, you win nothing for middle ground

And you lose nothing

Couldn't agree more. Lose mothing, only time.

That kind of only applys to NL freeroll sort of. Goodluck doing that in limit. Well some hands you can go crazy if you have a chance to win.

I love the razz part of horse and 8 game mix freerolls. I win lots of chips.

Agree there too. The discipline required for limit, you probably won't see it in freerolls, especially not early on. I love that new 8-game. Just played in once, but didn't do that well.
 
FreedomFighte1

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Well my opion is this...online it seems that when ever theres a good pot out there donks get it..plus....there donks..they are stupid and dont care..nor should anyone really cause its free...yeah i get hot when I get busted out of a game because I get a good hand and some retard pushes all in with k6 off and hit a full house or quads...but its part of the freeroll game I guess...we should just kill them all in there sleep:D
 
tpb221

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Here a suggestion. If you don't like all the "donks" in freerolls, quit playing freerolls.
 
ChasersWanted

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Donkeys play in the freerolls as well as lower buy-in tourneys/sng's. No matter where you go online donkeys/fish are there......OH WELL!!!!!!!! Look for sites with a lower max for freerolls, after 15-20mins most of them will be gone. If you haven't tried Carbon Poker you might want to, 1500max takes about 2hrs to finish, and they run every 4hrs.
 
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Donkeys play in ALL games, and the reason they act the way they do is that they dont know any better
 
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Why are freeroll donkeys the way they are? :confused:

Think about it. When you play a game of chess with people - no matter what their skill level is - they'll still try to play good. But when it's freeroll poker, people suddenly play like ... donkeys. Seriously, what is up with that?

The stats on my freshly configured HUD shocked me: people were playing 75%-100% of their starting hands, and going all the way to showdown about 50% of the time. 50%! That's like 4-5 people playing through the whole hand almost every time!

Why do people need financial punishment to stop playing bad poker? Why don't they take the game seriously? :mad:

Because most are either idots or don't care or both and are just trying to either double up or leave. I love getting A A or K K in the first hand of a freeroll becuase it is worth an all in push.
 
the lab man

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Donkeys play at all lower levels and if it wasn't for them some of us would not be enjoying the money we make off of them.

If you are playing freerolls with the donks call it practice cause if you can navigate through them you will do well.
 
2tall

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You can't have a freeroll without donks.
Sorry that's the rules.
 
puppyfeet

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What do you expect in a game that's free to play? I mean, there are probably 10 year olds on there playing around b/c it costs nothing, and plenty of older people that have no idea what they are doing, were watching poker on TV, saw an ad for Full Tilt or Poker Stars, and next thing you know there they are in the freeroll, with zero idea what's going on.

It's not going to change, so if you're going to play freerolls then you need to come up with a strategy assuming that at least half (if not more) of your opponents in a FR haven't a clue what they "should" be doing.
 
vicnik58

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Because it freeroll.
I now start to play through 20 - 30 minutes after the beginning of tournament.
Usually all donkeys already vanish.
 
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I got into Poker about a month ago because I liked the game. I realised a lot of skill was involved in playing good Poker, and reading about it stimulated me intellectually. I began watching Poker shows on television, and noticed the Pro's pulling off interesting strategic moves. Fascinating!

Now, this dimension of Poker all but disappears if the majority of players in a game see the flop on every hand - especially if said players play more than 75% of their starting hands. At that point, no reasonable decisions can be made on your part - there are just too many ways your opponents can have you beat.

Even excessive tightness can't help you here. Let's say you play only the top 10 hands, like Phil Hellmuth recommends for beginning players - that's only about 6% of your starting hands! In a game without donks, you'd be able to force out some opponents that need a draw to win, to limit the chances of someone sucking out on you. But in a donk-fest, the expected value of these hands drops dramatically, because there are so many opponents playing for a draw.

The way I see it, the pre-flop betting round in Poker is there to determine who's going to play - kind of like the bidding system in Bridge. If you call or raise, you're basically saying your cards are good enough to play. Of course, there's always bluffing to be considered, but if you play more than 75% of your starting hands, like donks, bluffing is a strategy that's just not available to you.

In a good game of Poker, only 2 to 4 people see the flop, and if there's a showdown, it's usually between just 2 players. Those are realistic numbers in a standard 10-player game: pre-flop, only 20%-40% of the players would think their starting hand is good enough to play. And if 4 players see the flop, it seems likely that half of them missed it, and won't stick around until the end.
 
zippyhippyca

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It IS a freeroll. Aside from that your going to find "donkeys" at all level of play. Though you are going to find them proportionately less the higher the buy in. Play a dime SnG on stars and you'll see they act the same way as in a freeroll. After all it IS only a dime. To others $5 is nothing but pocket change and they can always go to the "ATM" if they lose. I would guess that 90% of people playing online poker are recreational players and only have a marginal grasp of how to play. They play for fun and it's NOTHING to just deposit more when they run out. Sometimes I think in freeroll play if you can't beat em join em. I HAVE noticed in freeroll play that the less i care about winning the better I do. I wait my hands out play my ultra premiums in the beginning and if I win the hand great if not oh well i played MY best and had fun. After all that's what really matters isn't it?
 
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Donkeys play in ALL games, and the reason they act the way they do is that they dont know any better

I was a railbird at the $100 SnG buy-ins. You would think that the quality of play would be excellent/expert.

I was surprised :confused: how much limping, min. bet, min. raise. etc. All the stuff you see at the mico-levels was happening at the $100 tables. That gives me hope......for as bad as I play, I know that my skill level isn't too far from the high limit players.
 
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potman1250

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have u ever played chess on yahoo? some of them play like "donkeys" also. they dont play for the love of the game, they just play to kill time or for entertainment.
 
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If you knew about chess as much as you know about poker, these friendly chess games probably would look equally stupid to you, all these random moves and no strategy. Besides, some friends I know play poker for >2 years now and still struggle to accept the fact that such thing as pot odds exist.
 
Dorkus Malorkus

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I got into Poker about a month ago because I liked the game. I realised a lot of skill was involved in playing good Poker, and reading about it stimulated me intellectually. I began watching Poker shows on television, and noticed the Pro's pulling off interesting strategic moves. Fascinating!

Now, this dimension of Poker all but disappears if the majority of players in a game see the flop on every hand - especially if said players play more than 75% of their starting hands. At that point, no reasonable decisions can be made on your part - there are just too many ways your opponents can have you beat.

Even excessive tightness can't help you here. Let's say you play only the top 10 hands, like Phil Hellmuth recommends for beginning players - that's only about 6% of your starting hands! In a game without donks, you'd be able to force out some opponents that need a draw to win, to limit the chances of someone sucking out on you. But in a donk-fest, the expected value of these hands drops dramatically, because there are so many opponents playing for a draw.

The way I see it, the pre-flop betting round in Poker is there to determine who's going to play - kind of like the bidding system in Bridge. If you call or raise, you're basically saying your cards are good enough to play. Of course, there's always bluffing to be considered, but if you play more than 75% of your starting hands, like donks, bluffing is a strategy that's just not available to you.

In a good game of Poker, only 2 to 4 people see the flop, and if there's a showdown, it's usually between just 2 players. Those are realistic numbers in a standard 10-player game: pre-flop, only 20%-40% of the players would think their starting hand is good enough to play. And if 4 players see the flop, it seems likely that half of them missed it, and won't stick around until the end.

step 1 - deposit
step 2 - stop complaining
 
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