What kind of strategy for 1000+ players winner-takes-all freeroll?

Also 10 minute blinds with ante even on the first level, blinds start at 10/20.
Starting chips 2000.

I know I would need to get very lucky to win this, but how loose or tight should I be at the start? Should I go for any, including risky chances to double up, being very aggressive, or tight at the start and waiting for a good chance to double up (know that i lose chips as the blinds and antes take their rounds).

I mean at which level of the tournament do I know I have to move fast or lose the chips, assuming I hadn't doubled or won any chips yet?

Thanks!

I would say play Loose. Gamble early. If you go out early you didn't waste 4 hours for nothing. Its a freeroll. You only invest time. Save your investment.

I would wait for good hands to start with,the chances are thet when u do pick up a good hand u will be ahead and most probly double up.play as little hands as possible in the beginning,only play AA.KK.QQ,AK.

If u could see the flop with just a call,any pair or AQ,AJ ,

If u sit back and wait,you will go deep,(assuming no bad beats)

( I am asuming that you want to learn to win these freerolls and there is no investment to save because u have put nothing in)

Good luck

Lazmansa

i agree with the time thing coz if u play 4 hours and dont win ull be very angry,right?
it like the daily double satty..
i usually play like lazman sais and go very deep but never seem to make it...
even if 10% of field gtd a prize still might not make it if like 20-30% gtd then u can play like lazman said

just play solid poker tight but aggressive works well but dont be afraid to try and double up if you have a hand (aces kings maybe queens) if you play very loose youll either be out early or an above average chip stack if you play tight youll be average/above average chip stack

Winner take all with 1000+ entrants? You will need a lot of luck to win. If you're going to get lucky you might as well do it quickly. Personally I would not play tight in a game like this as you will invest a lot of time only to have a high shot of losing. I would gamble early to try and triple/quadruple up. I would probably play an orbit or two to get out the any 2 card shovers and then start getting hyper-aggressive.

This is a horrible way to spend your time though. If you have to do freerolls do one that pays a higher % of the entrants so you can reinvest in micro SnG's if you cash.

I have learned the hard way that play tight in the beginning and slowly building my chips, only gets me so far in the field and the only to fall short of the money and spending hours playing.

Get a good hand early and raise or take a chance of doubling up. Sounds kind of silly poker, and it is but you need to take a big lead early in these games.

in these winner takes all tournaments. If you can make it to and stay in the top 30 spots. And keep progressing as the tournament progresses. Then you will do good. Key here I think is just making it to the Final Table. From there on it is anyones game.

Never give up either. I played in a $200 free roll that I entered the final table in 10th position with 600 in chips. I took 2nd in that tournament.

Good luck in your quest for WTA!

play tight in the first few levels...but commit fully to any pp JJ+ AK or AQ entirely...you will lose often...screw it though you have the better hand 9 times out of 10 and they were donkeys for calling. unless you noticed there's someone who'll call any pre-flop all in or something like that...its useless to start off playing shove or fold. once you get your M under 15 past level 4 or under 20 past level 5...all in or fold the rest of the way...or until you're stacked well....you will get callers. if for some reason...there's no action, or just one or two tight limpers...shove any hand on the SB or button. outside of that, hope for premium but eventually any PP will do. i mean, its a luckbox...get lucky, play violent...midway through, all those deepstacks are donkey chip banks and you should exploit them.

Lonsdaleite said:

I would say play Loose. Gamble early. If you go out early you didn't waste 4 hours for nothing. Its a freeroll. You only invest time. Save your investment.

Click to expand...

I don't know about this. Not trying to start a fight here, so don't take it that way. OK.

I think every game you play (including freeroll, play money) you play to win. If you don't, I think you are going to develop some really bad habits and you'll never really improve. I'd like to think that I have improved quite a bit over the past 9 months mainly to freerolls. You learn where some of your weaknesses are at and you learn how to handle a large field.

To answer the original question: play tight in the beginning, then start to steal when you go card dead, bullly the table when you learn who will back down. Towards the end it's going to be a shootout. Find a hand you like and shove. The blinds and ante's will eat you up when it comes down to the last 100.

I think you sit back for the 1st part but play your position. No one ever wins just waiting for prime hands.They mite finish good but they dont win.
I won the dvd freeroll on fulltilt with 2700 people, although I realise I must have had quite abit of luck, I felt confident as I was leading through out the game. I think if you believe you can actually win, your 1 step ahead

If you're not prepared for the possibility that you'll play for a few hours and win nothing, then the optimim strategy is simply not to play. As for playing loose early to double up or bust, that's a rather unthinking strategy. When you have to get 1000 stacks to win, going from one to two is relatively meaningless.

You just have to wait for a good hand and push it. I think playing loose on early stage is the best way in this kind of tournaments. Anyway I just don't see why you play on those? It seems a waste of time...

It was team qualifier on pokerstars

You are playing to win so you do need to take some calculated risks early on. This is mostly cause there are so many players. Once you get a bigger stack you need to continue to take some chances but you can really pick your spots and even wait for hands.

With a big stack you should really be making a lot of profitable small stabs at pots and try to keep building the stack.

In a large field (1000 opps) and a low payout ratio you need a good deal of luck to cash. So gamble early and often. If your lucky and get a big stack (early) then play your best game. If your not lucky early you don't waste your time. Adjust to the "freeroll" tournament conditions and "pray"
to the poker god for great cards and good flops.

Can't really say because it seems a waste of time - sorry to say.

I'd rather multitable 4 x 1500-7000 freerolls with better payout-spread.

Mtts mean variance, how often do you think you're going to win 1/1000 ?

Even if you're very good AND very lucky it could take hundreds of times.

You have to gamble early in these winner take all tournaments. since its only paying out one place then being patient is going almost nowhere because you will eventually get unlucky at some point.

Early levels of play is where you need to be more aggressive and take more chances. if you get out to a big chip lead then you can start being even more aggressive against most of the nits in these.

Pay attention to your table surroundings and make sure you know who you are putting the pressure against

'experiment in freerolls'

when i first started on line i used both freeroll & fun tables for experimenting with strategies and techniques i ad read or learnt in homegames, this i found as a number of benefits;
1: it helps you to adjust to mtts
2: it costs you nothing
3: some say time factor irritating, but the more you play the more you adjust
4: as you adjust you will play better and deeper, (unless ur a complete fish or donker)
5: you can experiment with many strats n techs watever u wish, regardless of win or lose, u will learn from these i found.
6: you will eventually make final table or cash so dont give up
7: i also believe as there are more bad players than good players, wat better and harder training ground can there be, altho some may question this.
8: on the long run in freerolls you will start pin pointing the bad players more easily and this makes the good players stand out, in my opinion.
9: thus the freerolls are probabily one of the best poker training grounds for starting out before you play the small stakes cash games or tournees and will help you to spot traits of players and assit you in moving up the levels accordingly.
10: always play them now and again especially when your on tilt, as they help you to throw off some of the bad spells all players go thru, there good warm-up games to before you enter a planned tournee, i found i use them sometimes when i jus want to release some poker pressure win or lose, it dont matter...

anyway watever works for you, hope some of this helps....
the bottom line ...enjoy em
poker love 4ver
victoryv111

For me you have to consider playing as solid and as patient as possible and take your time with the all ins.

A few talk about being hyper aggressive at the first and to avoid the suck out 4 hours in. There is a lot of truth in that statement.

For first 15 or 20min just allow all the donks to fight out each other...
Then u start playing loose till u gather a good heap of chips...
Once u have good chips, play tight passive until u near the payout positions...
While reaching near the payouts position, u will see many players switch to defensive mode.That is the time for u to strike again with aggressive play and build up your stack...
Once u r inside the payout positions, just hang around till u reach the final table or two{as many will play loose aggressive ones they see that they are within the payout prizes positions. just allow them to fight out each other...}
After u find that loose players are gone, u immediately switch to tight aggressive position and fancy ur position....

By the way, during the course of the game if u get good hands like AA, KK, AK, AQ,..don't stop yourself from playing aggressive....


This is the best stratergy i can come up with pal...
Hope it helps you...
It helped me lotttttttt....

This is going to sound simplistic, but I think it extremely important to get as much value as possible with your premium hands. If limping with A-A in early position and you have a good chance of being re-raised, then do it. You need to make as much as money possible off the premiums to sustain those long stretches when you get nothing.

There's more to say (e.g., position vs not), but in reality you'll have to get lucky once or even twice to get into the money, that we'll usually mean a coin flip somewhere down the line.

LizzyJ said:

I think every game you play (including freeroll, play money) you play to win. If you don't, I think you are going to develop some really bad habits and you'll never really improve. I'd like to think that I have improved quite a bit over the past 9 months mainly to freerolls. You learn where some of your weaknesses are at and you learn how to handle a large field.

Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%. At the very least, you're getting some real tournament experience each and every time you play, so why not treat it as though you're playing in a real cash tournament and see how well you fare? So you may come in 50th out of 2700 and miss the cash, at least you had a great performance, and got some great experience. Not everything in poker is about earning cash. (YMMV)

If you're looking to cash, then I think a tight-agressive mode with the intention of doubling up by the end of the first 2 to 3 levels is warranted- but don't be afraid to shove or reshove pre-flop with suited connectors or AQ, AJ. It's important to have enough chips early on to give you your best chance at a payday.