Freeroll tournament explanation

Smotpoker

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I'm a super-newb. Never played a game for real money, but after reading here I'm starting to think that NOT playing real money is just a waste of time (hard to learn when your opponents are no smarter than you are).

So the freerolls interest me. From what I can understand you can enter a free roll tournament with no real money and have a chance to win real money to then play in the real money tournaments.

Am I understanding this correctly? Do you have to make a deposit of some kind before you are eligible for the free roll tourneys? Do frequent player points come into play?

I was just hoping someone could define how free roll tourneys work, how do you enter them and are the winnings always real money? I am mostly interested in how FTP and PS handle their free roll tourneys and where I need to go to get started.

PS I have my Little green book on the way. I'm also very seriously considering picking up Holdem Manager, not to mention I'm reading everything I can here. Its a bit confusing though with all the acronyms and insider speak, like 3-betting. The stickied glossary was a big help, but there's still a lot of terms I am unfamiliar with.

So that was a long ass post to ask how freerolls work ;)

PPS OK, to not start a new thread for another quick basic question. Where would be a good place to learn about position(s)? I have been reading a lot that reference good positions, but haven't come across any basic material that explains the positions. Like I said I have Phil Gordon's little green book on the way, if you know this info is in there then just tell me and I'll wait patiently.....Well I'll wait anyway.

Thanks for all the help so far.
Me
 
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c9h13no3

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Do you have to make a deposit of some kind before you are eligible for the free roll tourneys?
No. But sometimes you have to make a deposit before you are allowed to withdraw freeroll winnings.

Do frequent player points come into play?
Usually, no. However you can buy into some tournaments using FPPs, but they're not really freerolls.

I was just hoping someone could define how free roll tourneys work, how do you enter them
Same way you enter any tournament. Download a poker client and find out.

I'm also very seriously considering picking up Holdem Manager, not to mention I'm reading everything I can here.
Don't, you're too new to make use of it yet. Wait until you're playing at least $10 NLHE cash games, or $10 SnG's.
 
No Brainer

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PPS OK, to not start a new thread for another quick basic question. Where would be a good place to learn about position(s)? I have been reading a lot that reference good positions, but haven't come across any basic material that explains the positions.

A quick introduction to positions.

Example_of_position-sm.jpg


Starting from the small blind (Alice) and going around clockwise.

Small Blind - SB - Always first to act after the flop
Big Blind - BB
Under the gun - UTG
Under the gun plus one - UTG+1
Under the gun plus two - UTG+2
Middle position one - MP1
Middle position two - MP2
Middle position three - MP3
Cut Off - CO
Dealer, or Button - BTN - Always last to act after the flop

This is for a 10 handed table so if you were at say a 9 handed table you would take away one of the MP3, then at a 6 handed table you may take away MP2 and UTG+2. Also the amount of middle positions and Under the guns may vary from player to player but there will always be a SB, BB, UTG, CO and BTN until there are less than 5 players.

Now the reason for playing in position is basically that it is much easier to make a decision after you have seen what the other people in the hand have done.

When you are first to act you have no idea what they are going to do after you. Say you wanted to try and bluff them off their hand, you would have to make a decent size bet but if you do this and they have a great hand they will be able to call or raise you and you may have to fold that hand.

So generally you want to be playing as much as you can from the later positions (CO, BTN) so that you have the chance to see what the other players actions are before you have to decide what you want to do.
 
Smotpoker

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Oh my, that is perfect! Thanks so much. Tried out my first freeroll tourney. It was a Turbo version as there weren't any others starting anytime soon. It was a fun few minutes :p
 
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joemac696969

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It sounds like you are pretty new to poker so just take your time and try to learn about position and all the other ins and outs. Freerolls are a good way to learn. That's how I started out and you might win some dough I placed second the other day it took almost 5 hours. GL
 
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if youre just out to learn, play whateer freeroll you can get in to, but if you want to build yourself a bankroll from freerolls, i wouldnt waste my time on public ones with 2700 people on them like the ones on tilt, they are hard to make the money and they are loaded with donks, try to get into private freerolls like the ones CC offers, there are many good private freerolls, thats how i got started and im sure you'll pick up on the game fast with all your reading and studying.
best of lcuk to you!:)
 
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Ok.. some great info... don't quit you day job.. but if your serious about poker then try reading a basic poker book. See how that helps.
 
dj11

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Read everything in here;

https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php

it is as good as several books.

Use the freerolls to begin to understand what is going on in the poker world these days. Freerolls are indicative of the general frame of mind IF you discount the first hour. During that first hour you will run into 2 kinds of insanity;

1- People who really have no clue

2- People who are really good but impatient.

It is likely they will appear to play the same game, in reality one group knows no better, and the other doesn't give a shit. Both of these groups tend to die early in bigger tourneys, and most are gone before the first hour is done. At that point most of the players left are somewhat decent, have studied at least a little bit about the game, and will tend to play fairly conservative.

By the time you get deep, and the bubble (that spot where getting past it gets you actual prize money) is visible, the players are probably 40% good to very good, and 57% lucky. The other 3% is unknown, or got such a big stack early that it is hard to pin them down.

After the money spot, the game changes radically. Where folks with 1/2 a brain had limped cautiously into the money, they now change their game like they change their undies during flu season. In many ways the tourney at that point resembles the opening minutes which you tried to avoid.

But again, read all the strategy articles above, and get comfortable playing whatever sites you choose.

You could deposit money, and as a newb we would all appreciate that, but we appreciate more that you found us and are willing to learn.
 
Smotpoker

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Thanks for all the words of wisdom.


I've been reading through https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php as well. I've been reading a lot more than I've been playing actually, but without a deposit the games I'm seeing I don't think are very good training material, but its a ton of fun.

I'm definitely in this for the fun of the game, not the money, but that being said I don't feel like I'm really playing the game correctly in these free places. I guess its a bit of a catch-22 early on. You don't want to put in money that will almost definitely be lost, but at the same time its hard to get a good idea of what money play will be like without the money!


I've been concentrating on FTP. I was wondering if someone could explain the rakeback a bit better. I understand what it is, but is it something that sticks with your account forever or just a limited time? Would it be a good idea to go ahead and make a new account with the rakeback bonus right now even though I'm not planning to use real money for awhile?


Another question, I have popped into pokerstars for a bit and I noticed they have "Training" games. Anyone capable of explaining how these work and whether they are worth trying?


Yet another question. Is there a nice website with the most common graphs/spreadsheets/flash cards with odds and whatnot? It would be nice to be able to glance at a website or piece of paper that would give me some odds on my cards. Just the most basic stuff. I have a copy of "Mathematics And Poker (Brian Alspach)" and Phil Gordon's "Little Green Book", and a pdf copy of "The Theory of Poker (Seventh printing, Complete) (David Sklansky)" among many many others I downloaded. I'm starting with the Phil Gordon book, but I feel like I need to get a better base in the mathematics of poker before worrying more about the science/social aspect of poker.
EDIT: Well I answered this question by just following dj11's link, lots of odds info there!


How do you guys feel about the other poker games? Razz/Omaha/etc? Should I put some effort into learning these games as well or just focus all my attention on hold'em? I'm thinking at this point I should probably just stick with hold'em till I have a better grasp on how it works.


Thanks, thanks, thanks. I can't say it enough. Thank you all.
 
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T

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don't get ahead of yourself. you really don't want to dive right in and try to be all over everything at once and be overwhelmed. its cool to try lots of new stuff since its a whole new thing though. i wouldn't worry about getting HEM or PT for a good long while...in fact, if i were you, i'd concentrate on just the freerolls, and at ftp, there's lots of action on the play money tables too. i think, despite sometimes feeling impatient, especially if you've had a little success, you should never rush yourself into making a deposit or blowing that dollar you just won 5 mins after winning it. we all probably had a day or too as a noob where we won something, and thought, "hey, this is easy"...well, not so fast, haha. play for free for a good while, find your style and find what you like to play...and practice the things you've learned in the play money and freerolls. even there, where there's so many horrible players, those new things you learned really can make a big difference.

in case you haven't found them all ready, some fun freerolls ftp has that might get you at least some tournament dollars are the freeroll to the daily dollar, which i think starts around 6:25pm server time. the tournament dollar freeroll, which i think is 6:40pm. and the satellite to the ferguson fr, which starts at 11:10pm. get yourself a tournament dollar and have a ball playing in the daily dollar or something, which is basically a freeroll that costs a dollar, with all the ppl that play in it. you'll start with 3000 chips in that thing so you'll even have a chance to make a mistake or two or have some rough luck and still recover. i think finding those freerolls is easiest by clicking on play money in the client and they're all listed under the tournaments there.
 
Worak

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Download a poker client and find out.

on a sidenote - get rakeback (rake is the portion of every pot or tourney you pay to the pokersite).

Sign up through a rakeback site - there are several - just google "rakeback".

Ps.: Yeah they are other games, too - Omaha, Omaha hi/low, stud, razz, badugi 2-7 draw and others......

I'd try to get a real grasp on hold'em first though - might be a bit too much of info otherwise.
 
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Poker Orifice

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Yah +1 on 'don't get HEM' off the start. The statistics it provides you will be near useless to you at first (and really unecessary when getting started).
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book is an excellent choice!!! (coming from a poker book guy here, having literally read dozens upon dozens of them...another addiction of mine, lol).

Regular freerolls on both Fulltilt & Pokerstars will be okay to an extent (for a brief stint perhaps). It'll give you an oppurtunity to see alot of hands if nothing else but for sure the play is very poor. AND YES.. it is real money you'll be winning there that you can use for anyother game on the sites. Some sites will let you withdrawl those winnings, others will require you to deposit first prior to being able to make a withdrawl. I've actually now won somewhere in the vicinity of $750.00 in freerolls alone (picked up another $46 tonight in the CC freeroll on Fulltilt, lol... had to sneak a brag in there, lol). Two summers ago I actually took 1st in two private forum freerolls with 1,000 entrants+ in the very same day. You can make some startup cash from the freerolls (although I did actually deposit when I first got started but the freerolls were an extra I could play when not wanting to risk any of my bankroll).
Keep posting on here and you'll get to play the Cardschat Freerolls which are an excellent way to learn how to play the game. There are ALOT of good players in the CC freerolls (way better than you'd typically find in anyother freerolls aside from maybe the Ironman $30K freeroll (lol) and some other larger rakeback site freerolls).
GL on the tables!! Keep posting away and asking questions. No question is a dumb question. The question you don't ask is the dumb one.
 
Poker Orifice

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The question you don't ask is the dumb one (<< that didn't come out sounding quite right...).
There are no dumb questions so keep firing away!! You can save yourself alot of time by asking questions here in the forum (ie. for starters.. poker book selection... .so many books you could read that would have you just spinning your wheels. Meanwhile askng a question about it here, you get the input from many players who've gone down the path before you.

GL and enjoy the journey!
 
Smotpoker

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Had my best FR tourney so far last night. I just joined the only tourney coming up anytime soon. Turned out to be PLO. I was reading wikipedia on how to play for the first few minutes. I finished 63rd out of 2700, and I pretty much just gave up and pushed with some crappy straight draw just because it was so late and I needed to get to bed. Need to make sure I get home from work and register in time for the earlier tourney's. Proof sometimes luck is better than skill :p
 
Smotpoker

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So I made a new FTP account with rakeback through rakebrain. Turns out you have 60 days to use it before it becomes deactivated. The rakebrain email said after the 60 days they would be able to "try" and reactivate your rakeback, but I don't think I trust that statement very much.

Just FYI for those that might give a shit ;)
 
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yeah

I have won some money in freerolls but never got to turn it into a check...thats my problem I keep playing til my money is gone.
 
Smotpoker

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As long as its coming from your poker winnings and not your wallet I'd say you're doing much better than average ;)
 
Smotpoker

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Well I gave up on free play (I'll still hit a freeroll tourney now and again).

I went ahead and deposited $50 because it just didn't feel like I was learning much of anything in the free rooms. And after about 50 cash game hands and a 6 man sit n' go I'm pretty confident I made the right decision. It feels like I'm playing a completely different game.

I lost a couple bucks on the cash games, but managed to place 2nd in my 2nd ever 6 man SNG.

My winnings you might ask?! $4.20 Kind of fitting :D

tourn.jpg


I've hit my real money limit for the day though, time to go finish reading "Theory of poker" and maybe hit up a freeroll tourney this evening.

tourn.jpg
 
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Smotpoker

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OK I have another silly question. Why are the blinds considered to be early position when they are the last to bet preflop? Is there a reason not to try and steal the limpers bets from the small or big blind?

I haven't been playing much position game. I know in the back of my head I need to start thinking about it more, but when it comes time to actually play I don't give it much thought. I'm also still trying to grasp some of the odds concepts and 4's and 2's and implied odds and all that from the "Little Green Book". Phil gordon says its pretty easy, but it all went over my head. I think that part is going to take a little longer to sink in.
 
Tom1559

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Looks like you have already had a lot of feed back. One thing. Stick to the forum freerolls. The public ones are just free for alls.
 
Smotpoker

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Need to change the title of this thread to Smotpokers diary or some shit :D
 
Worak

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OK I have another silly question. Why are the blinds considered to be early position when they are the last to bet preflop? Is there a reason not to try and steal the limpers bets from the small or big blind?

I haven't been playing much position game. I know in the back of my head I need to start thinking about it more, but when it comes time to actually play I don't give it much thought. I'm also still trying to grasp some of the odds concepts and 4's and 2's and implied odds and all that from the "Little Green Book". Phil gordon says its pretty easy, but it all went over my head. I think that part is going to take a little longer to sink in.

On the flop SB is first to act, BB is second.

Playing position is essential - you can see the action before you act in late position which is a huge advantage.

Example: I fold K10o from UTG whereas I raise with it from the CO/button most of the time...

Stealing limped pots from the BB / or the BB from SB if it's folded to you is possible - but if you get called you'll be OOP (out of position) again ....
 
Smotpoker

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Yeah, I know how important it is, but I tend to focus too much on the two cards in front of me when I'm playing and focus not enough on position, opponents betting habits, etc. I need to do more reading and less gambling.
 
Jodieblonde

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You don't need to deposit any where to start playing. You can start with freerolls and hopefully build up a bankroll. If not, you can look into depositing but try the play for fun games and get better at the game first.
 
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