Small Ball Poker

Can you utilize small ball poker in freerolls? I am just curious about everyone's opinion.

To be honest any type of poker in a Freeroll(DonkFest) is hard to do well in. Donks make terrible plays as being the donks they are and they get saved now and then and donk us. Should've been gone but got saved with a miracle. They go out not to long after donking you the same way they donked you. It's way harder to do good in FR then in Money tourneys that you have to pay to get into. GL...

Small ball in freerolls is hard to implement because too many players go all-in negating the small ball strategy.

I actually found if you play small ball poker late in the free roll it works great but will admit early on it is never worth trying early in the tournament.

It's still a viable strategy if you apply it properly. The key is to play small ball in position so you don't get aggrodonks shoving into you or trying to squeeze. For those special players, small ball your aces and kings so they can squeeze into that.

Maybe small-ball needs a little definition.

In my small-ball world, I play small ball to manage the pot and only allow myself to play big-ball when i have a seriously high equity hand (93% or better). My intention is to ensure i don't bleed my chips away in just 2 or 3 hands, ensuring i will always have another shot at a decent pot. I think this is valid in FR's and I think this can work against Donks.

Would work except for super turbo freerolls where you would stand no chance.

You could, but I think isn't the best strategy you can use to play freerolls.

There's nothing wrong with playing a specific style of play but I believe that it is good for a player from time to time mix there game up a little bit. Give it a little tweek. If you are more successful than great. If you aren't more successful than switch it in another direction and hopefully find a style of game that best suits your needs. Good luck!!!

I love smallball early on in any MTT so you can manage the pot while your stack is not yet "developed". Of course you must play this game from position or you'll be facing those idiot raises and shoves from the donks. That being said some times smallball just doesn't work early on because the rest of the table starts seeing it as a weakness....they come over the top with a big raise thinking you'll just fold. And, if you trap them with a small bet with a monster hand and then shove they will happily call you but the remaining donks just don't see any need to change their game. The next time you smallball they jump right in with a raise. So, yes, smallball can work but only some times.

I do play small ball no matter if it is a free or a real money game. You can't avoid the donkfest especially in the early stages but after a while the vast majority of the remained players are not the classic freerollers.

To be honest you can't change the quality the field in a freeroll , do what better works for you , but if you see that you can outplay your opponents by playing small ball then do it!

My opinion

Yes, that is why we play stupid some of the time. So the person at moms or living on welfare can go to work at home and get a night out. Freerolls are usually just about right for the amount you can cash. There are some poker sites we save at like pokerstars or intertops. there are some poker sites we dump to like ACR and fulltilt for the poor man.

Can work well if you stay at the table long enough to develop a tight image. As soon as your opponents realize that a small bet can still mean you have a monster you will enjoy a great fold ratio. Being able to take some pots uncontested is super valuable in tournaments. Helps a lot to protect your stack against theorizing blinds if you can grab a small pot here and there...

Justin Bloomquist said:

Can you utilize small ball poker in freerolls? I am just curious about everyone's opinion.

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I think strategy in freerolls would not give much in the beginning because the players in the freeroll are very aggressive and generally they will soon all in