AtiFCOD
Legend
Loyaler
Do the same. You had the best hand, that matters only. By winning such hands your stack becomes very huge. The target is to get in top 3...and you need huge stack to do it.
Do the same. You had the best hand, that matters only. By winning such hands your stack becomes very huge. The target is to get in top 3...and you need huge stack to do it.
blakewyte
Rock Star
Silver Level
I feel it's just the variance of the flop especially when it's a pre-flop all-in.
My AA got cracked by Q 6. Lost 1/2 my stack. Decided to just play tight. Next good hand was a KK. Cracked again with a monkey (but big stack, so I guess the odds were in his favour) who called with 7 2. Got lucky when he hit runner runner straight.
Even the tourneys where I pay for entry, I play tight and I know my hand is dominating pre-flop, flop I hit top pair. I do a C bet on flop and on turn. The villain just calls. In the end, villain rivers his second pair. He had bottom pair on the turn and rivered his second pair. And the thing was, I didn't make it a small bet, it was 3/4 the pot. He just flats it. We are of the same stack.
Times like this it makes me feel like I'm just playing poker all wrong and makes me lose the motivation.
My AA got cracked by Q 6. Lost 1/2 my stack. Decided to just play tight. Next good hand was a KK. Cracked again with a monkey (but big stack, so I guess the odds were in his favour) who called with 7 2. Got lucky when he hit runner runner straight.
Even the tourneys where I pay for entry, I play tight and I know my hand is dominating pre-flop, flop I hit top pair. I do a C bet on flop and on turn. The villain just calls. In the end, villain rivers his second pair. He had bottom pair on the turn and rivered his second pair. And the thing was, I didn't make it a small bet, it was 3/4 the pot. He just flats it. We are of the same stack.
Times like this it makes me feel like I'm just playing poker all wrong and makes me lose the motivation.
M
Misdir
Rock Star
Silver Level
played quite a few of these while waiting for deposit from US. Actually won 5-6 the only thing it teaches you is patience; the rest is just nuts. The software included-- as the object of the software at certain points is to eliminate players so a player with some funky hand but large stack will win against your KKs just to keep the game going or you would be there for days.
IPlay
Bum hunts 25NL
Silver Level
I had AA and KK cracked by low gaper straights yesterday :/
How often can one person win a freeroll with 500+ people? I just started playing them about 3 days ago and usually get top 100 and my best is 15th place(5 from the money!)
How often can one person win a freeroll with 500+ people? I just started playing them about 3 days ago and usually get top 100 and my best is 15th place(5 from the money!)
C
chauncey274
Enthusiast
Silver Level
I cash out in the America's Cardroom free rolls about 1 out of every 10 tries. Maybe could cash out more often if I didn't shove so often at the beginning.
Keep playing them. They are good experience (Just disregard the beginning, that's very unlike normal tournament play) for down the road, and you'll be surprised how much better you get over time.
G
gazrosenau
Rock Star
Silver Level
these are the 3 main ways i have found in how to start a freeroll hope it helps
Strategy #1: Get lucky early
There’s plenty of variations to this. Basically, you are trying to get all of your chips into a pot early. Why? Because everyone else is. In some freerolls you might see five or six people pushing on the first hand. Even if you wait out the opening rounds and play solid tight poker, you may be up against players with 10 times the chips you have. When you are dealt AA, and you have 1,400 chips, a player with 20K might call with any two cards and beat you. And you might be up against several players who are prospecting. Your 1400 doesn’t scare them. They can afford to play every pot, and you can’t.
So when you can’t beat them, join them. Push on the first hand, or any early hand, with pretty much any cards. I would avoid pushing with an ace less than A10, since you’ll likely be dominated. And hands like 3-5 can probably be tossed as well. Better yet, unless you have a monster (JJ-AA). I would wait until the second hand, when you’ll likely have fewer callers and a better shot to win a pot.
The benefit of this? You find out early if you want to devote time to the freeroll. If you can start creating a big stack early, you have a much better chance of cashing. Slow and tight can often be a recipe for getting sucked out on by someone with a much larger stack. If you lose? So what? You haven’t lost anything. You’ve actually gained time and energy to devote to another freeroll.
Once again, I don’t recommend this when the freeroll offers better prizes. The poker is likely to be much better.
Strategy #2: Super tight
The exact opposite approach can sometimes work in freerolls as well. Since you know nearly everyone else is trying to get lucky, sitting back and waiting for a monster can be a good strategy. Take that uber-aggressiveness and use it against them.
As we discuss, the preflop monster is good, but can get you into trouble against multiple big stacks. The post-flop monster, when you’ve hit your big hand, is preferable.
Don’t sit back and let people bet it for you, though. Bet out against the big stacks. They’ll probably call you because they’re bored. Or want to get lucky again.
Playing just the top 10 hands is a good idea, perhaps mixing in suited connectors. But don’t go prospecting with junk.
The goal here is too build a bankroll through solid play, which doesn’t always work. But if you’re playing as much for fun as for the result, this can be a good way to play a freeroll.
Strategy #3: Prospecting
This could really be strategy #1a. But it’s different. Here your goal is to see as many flops as possible before the stacks around you get too big.
This probably means skipping the first hand, and maybe the first several. Once the play calms down, call with any two cards, unless you are up against big raises (greater than 4x the big blind). Once again, the goal is too get lucky and try to build a bankroll. But you are giving yourself perhaps dozens of hands to do so. You’ll once again figure out if you can get a big stack early, making it worth your while to play.
Strategy #1: Get lucky early
There’s plenty of variations to this. Basically, you are trying to get all of your chips into a pot early. Why? Because everyone else is. In some freerolls you might see five or six people pushing on the first hand. Even if you wait out the opening rounds and play solid tight poker, you may be up against players with 10 times the chips you have. When you are dealt AA, and you have 1,400 chips, a player with 20K might call with any two cards and beat you. And you might be up against several players who are prospecting. Your 1400 doesn’t scare them. They can afford to play every pot, and you can’t.
So when you can’t beat them, join them. Push on the first hand, or any early hand, with pretty much any cards. I would avoid pushing with an ace less than A10, since you’ll likely be dominated. And hands like 3-5 can probably be tossed as well. Better yet, unless you have a monster (JJ-AA). I would wait until the second hand, when you’ll likely have fewer callers and a better shot to win a pot.
The benefit of this? You find out early if you want to devote time to the freeroll. If you can start creating a big stack early, you have a much better chance of cashing. Slow and tight can often be a recipe for getting sucked out on by someone with a much larger stack. If you lose? So what? You haven’t lost anything. You’ve actually gained time and energy to devote to another freeroll.
Once again, I don’t recommend this when the freeroll offers better prizes. The poker is likely to be much better.
Strategy #2: Super tight
The exact opposite approach can sometimes work in freerolls as well. Since you know nearly everyone else is trying to get lucky, sitting back and waiting for a monster can be a good strategy. Take that uber-aggressiveness and use it against them.
As we discuss, the preflop monster is good, but can get you into trouble against multiple big stacks. The post-flop monster, when you’ve hit your big hand, is preferable.
Don’t sit back and let people bet it for you, though. Bet out against the big stacks. They’ll probably call you because they’re bored. Or want to get lucky again.
Playing just the top 10 hands is a good idea, perhaps mixing in suited connectors. But don’t go prospecting with junk.
The goal here is too build a bankroll through solid play, which doesn’t always work. But if you’re playing as much for fun as for the result, this can be a good way to play a freeroll.
Strategy #3: Prospecting
This could really be strategy #1a. But it’s different. Here your goal is to see as many flops as possible before the stacks around you get too big.
This probably means skipping the first hand, and maybe the first several. Once the play calms down, call with any two cards, unless you are up against big raises (greater than 4x the big blind). Once again, the goal is too get lucky and try to build a bankroll. But you are giving yourself perhaps dozens of hands to do so. You’ll once again figure out if you can get a big stack early, making it worth your while to play.
F
Fevah7
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Although the game of poker offers information such as pot/equity odds, player tells, etc, Poker is still a game of luck. If the players around you are shoving in with bullshit, its cool. In the long run, you will become a more profitable player because statistically your playing correct. Kick yourself in the ass for play the wrong way instead of the right way.
U
United
Rock Star
Silver Level
^ This
It is depressing that donk's seem to win those though
My advice would be to shove in with the first hand no matter what you get. It IS a freeroll after all and one will start again soon. You're sure to get at least 1 caller, which would let you either be the dominating stack or out until the next one.
PoKeRFoRNiA
Legend
Bronze Level
Public Freerolls(not cc freerolls) should NOT be played normally. It is a bingo fest.
You MUST play loose. If there's 3-4 all-ins in front of me and I'm holding 67s, I'm calling. I don't care if I bust out. This is heavily a -EV decision in real-money tournaments where you have limited number of buy-ins but with freerolls, you have unlimited number of buy-ins, meaning you can infinitely play freerolls as many times as you want without losing anything. And considering the fact that all the prizes are awarded to only top 5% of the field for measily amount, there is no point of playing Hellmuth-style poker of playing tight in early stage. You can start playing normal poker after 1.5-2 hours have gone by since that's when people will start taking it seriously since they've invested enough time. But in early stage, play loose. Nothing to lose, high number of chips to gain. It's just matter of being able to change gears once you have accumulated enough chips and played enough. But until then, play loose. I just loosen up my range and shove or call all-ins with any type of suited connectors, Any ace, TJ+, any pocket pair. I couldn't care less if I am dominated and bust out since I didn't invest anything. As I accumulate chips, I slowly tighten up and once I've tightened up enough and time has gone by, then I know I can start playing for reals.
Now for cc freerolls or other private freerolls where payouts are great, players will play to win and making wreckless plays will hardly pay off. In other words, you will actually have to play poker, opposed to public freerolls, where it's just bingo shovefest while payouts are not great.
You MUST play loose. If there's 3-4 all-ins in front of me and I'm holding 67s, I'm calling. I don't care if I bust out. This is heavily a -EV decision in real-money tournaments where you have limited number of buy-ins but with freerolls, you have unlimited number of buy-ins, meaning you can infinitely play freerolls as many times as you want without losing anything. And considering the fact that all the prizes are awarded to only top 5% of the field for measily amount, there is no point of playing Hellmuth-style poker of playing tight in early stage. You can start playing normal poker after 1.5-2 hours have gone by since that's when people will start taking it seriously since they've invested enough time. But in early stage, play loose. Nothing to lose, high number of chips to gain. It's just matter of being able to change gears once you have accumulated enough chips and played enough. But until then, play loose. I just loosen up my range and shove or call all-ins with any type of suited connectors, Any ace, TJ+, any pocket pair. I couldn't care less if I am dominated and bust out since I didn't invest anything. As I accumulate chips, I slowly tighten up and once I've tightened up enough and time has gone by, then I know I can start playing for reals.
Now for cc freerolls or other private freerolls where payouts are great, players will play to win and making wreckless plays will hardly pay off. In other words, you will actually have to play poker, opposed to public freerolls, where it's just bingo shovefest while payouts are not great.
PoKeRFoRNiA
Legend
Bronze Level
Why are some of the people here saying wait for the big hand in a PUBLIC FREEROLL where you have NOTHING to lose. Do you guys just listen to Phil Hellmuth or just play by the book and apply advices in wrong or different environment? This is equivalent to trying to apply cash game strategies to tournaments or tournament strategies to cash games. What works well in certain situations doesn't work well in other situations.
Playing loose in early stage and shoving or calling off several all-ins with suited connectors, any broadway is definitely -EV play and playing like this in real-money tournaments will cost your bankroll unless you have lot of buy-ins sustainable enough to withstand the variance. HOWEVER, in a freeroll, there's NOTHING to lose since you don't lose anything since it's FREE. You actually benefit if you bust early since you save time, or you donk out and accumulate lot of chips early on, which then you have the advantage and will have a better shot at winning the freeroll or go deep. At that point while the time has passed by, then you can start playing TAG style or start playing poker.
Playing loose in early stage and shoving or calling off several all-ins with suited connectors, any broadway is definitely -EV play and playing like this in real-money tournaments will cost your bankroll unless you have lot of buy-ins sustainable enough to withstand the variance. HOWEVER, in a freeroll, there's NOTHING to lose since you don't lose anything since it's FREE. You actually benefit if you bust early since you save time, or you donk out and accumulate lot of chips early on, which then you have the advantage and will have a better shot at winning the freeroll or go deep. At that point while the time has passed by, then you can start playing TAG style or start playing poker.
