R
rulist1
Enthusiast
Silver Level
The D in Dragon: Don't Play Fancy
I'm going to start off with this because I see that this is where a bunch of people fail. They get a good stack going then BOOM! It's all gone... There are many reasons for this and one of them is trying to act like someone on TV. I'm going to cover things in this post you may or may not have heard about before such as Personality Class, Starting Hands, Flop Texture, Pot Control and WHEN TO FOLD... That's right. Folding in freerolls is HUGE to success. Dragons start in eggs. Eggs are solid and they don't move. They are growing to hatch and many times they are exposed to harsh conditions (aka other players).
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE: There will come a time when you are in your egg stage that you will bust and bust and bust. Even the best go through this phase. It is called VARIANCE. I know I may get heat for this but I am proof that America's Cardroom is not I repeat NOT rigged. What happens in freerolls is you can STILL go in with the best hand and lose by the river and IT'S NORMAL a large majority of the time. I'm teaching you to take the number one spot when you do get that deep and the easiest way to get there.
Let's Start With Personalities
The Personality types are:
The DRAGON: The dominate player at the table who is usually one of the first to bust or make a huge stack.
The Donkey: The player who raises with anything. These guys can bust you or be the driving force that gets you into the money. Both scenarios happen.
The Fish: These guys have a reputation for being weak but not all fish are weak. They play a wide range of cards and end up at the river. They raise with top pair or worse, and can get you into trouble if you aren't careful.
The Yak (aka Calling Stations): These guys are your money makers. They call with literally anything. Since you won't be bluffing you can burn these guys alive. NEVER BLUFF A YAK.
The Monkey: These guys either shove or fold. If they shove it is highly almost always likely they have medium hands. These guys are the vast majority of freerollers.
The Rock: If he raises get out. He rarely plays hands and when he does it's usually aces or kings. If he doesn't and noone else is in the hand then Raise...Raise....Raise... unless he is super strong he will never call you.
All you need to know here is simple:
-Raise fish with three of a kind or better (never less)
-Never Bluff a Yak. When you have a good hand, keep raising.
-Raise the Rock
-Let the Donkey bet into you when you know you have the best hand
-Wait for the Monkey to hang himself. Catch him with AA, KK, AK, AQ, or QQ
-The DRAGON.... Avoid at all costs unless you have these starting hands or better. The hand selections below work generally against all player types.
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Starting Hands
These are the hands you should be playing if you want to win. I will identify these in which stages you should play these in and what position.
POSITION IS: Where you are at relative to the dealer button. For more on this look up "holdem position" in google images it will help you. When raising, follow this tip. If nobody raised before you, raise it to 5 times the Big Blind. Add ONE big blind to your raise for every caller.
Early Position(Big Blind, Small Blind and Under The Gun)
Raise: AA KK QQ AK AQ
Call: JJ, TT AJ
Fold: Everything Else
Fold to Raise(3 BB or bigger): AJ
Call Raise
Up to 6BB):JJ,TT, AQRe-Raise: AA, KK, AK
Middle Position
Raise:AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ, AJ
Call: TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, KQ, AT, QJ
Fold: Everything Else
Fold to Raise(5 BB or bigger: All
Late Position(The Dealer Button and the seat before it) s=suited
Raise: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, QJ
Call: 99, 88, 77, 66, KJ, KT, K9, QT, 78s, 89s, 9T, TJs, Axs (x equals any number lower than Ten)
Fold: Everything Else
Fold to Raise(6 BB or bigger): All Calling Hands
Call Raise(Up to 6 BB): AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, QJ
Re-raise: AA, KK, AK
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Flop Texture
Flop texture is a really easy concept to know exactly how strong your hand is compared to the board. One main thing that freerollers forget to take into consideration and ultimately lose is because of Flop Texture. Also known as reading the board. This is really easy it goes like this:
A WET board is a flop or turn card that either gives strong draws for straights and flushes.
A DRY board is a GOOD board IF you hit such as
where a hand like 99 could fry a fish with an ace.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Control
Whether or not to play a big pot is a huge skill in freerolls that will determine wether you go busto or whether you thrive as a dragon. This is where it gets a little tricky. I'm open for feedback if you have any questions here and will be more than happy to answer them for you. Essentially it boils down to two things which are the personality you are playing against and how strongly you have connected to the board.
Important:
When drawing to high card open-ended straight draws or Ace flushes on a wet board, you want as many people and as many chips in the pot as possible because when you hit the rest of the tournament will be cake. Ally with The Donkey.
When up against a lot of opponents on a dry board, only bet with top two pair or better and bet the pot. If you get re-raised you can safely fold (unless you are playing a Donkey, Fish or Yak).
With two pair on a wet board, you want to get everyone out FAST unless the board can already have a straight or flush such as three spades or 89T. Ship it.
One pair on a wet board is weak. Keep the pot small. Check it.
When you have the best possible hand on a board. Keep raising no matter what.
If any doubt, keep the pot small. When you know you are good 60% of the time or better, don't be afraid to make that pot big.
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WHEN TO FOLD
This is very simple yet very few freerollers get this part. In very specific conditions should you NOT fold. This situation occurs when you have a pocket pair higher than the board and the board is dry which is VERY rare.
Here's When you fold to a raise on the flop:
When you have a gut shot drawWhen you missed the boardWhen you have an ace flush draw and the flop is pairedWhen the turn completes a flush and you have a straightWhen you have a flush and the board pairs and the other guy re-raises your raiseWhen you missed the board and can't draw to a higher pair (such as when there's a wet board)When you missed the board...I know... A lot to take in.... Poker can be downright boring at times. But this is what it takes to play profitable poker (and win the abominable freerolls).
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In Part 3 we will be talking about R in DRAGON. The driving forces behind the raise. I hope you enjoyed the information and will continue to follow me through the next lessons of the DRAGON concept. If you would like to follow these lessons, click the box in the upper right corner of Cardschat home page named "Search" and Type "The Beginner's Guide to Freerolls Part 3: The R in DRAGON". Hope to see you there! Part 3 will be available 8/15/2018 (or earlier depending on when I finish it today). If it doesn't pop up check back tomorrow for more! Happy Stacking!
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