Freerolls...More harm than good!?

[portystars]

play with faith

the freerolls are good but they are very long and the players throw rest with any speculative hand and most times they do not bring many winnings the real gains come through guaranteed tournaments or sitgo tournaments but when there are no dollars to play as we access this option.

 

[Zzzms]

Pre-flop: they can be good for working out your ranges in different positions, but post-flop; you would be doing your self a disservice thinking that you're gaining experience playing freerolls.
You're going to see things that are exclusive to freerolls and microstakes for the most part.

 

[popstani]

Play freerolls like you play any other cash tournament and you will be fine. Lots of people play like donkeys just because they don’t pay for the game. I try many different styles and good ABC in freerolls, specially in the beginning, gives best results.

 

[Luckyi23]

Poker

Poker is poker,,,whether its played on the side of a mountain with little rocks.If you have skills,those skills can win you hands ...

 

[grindmylifeaway]

I've been doing decent I guess but its still so wild - I usually just take whatever little money i win if i win and play some micro - tourneys...even though they are only $1-$5 the play is noticeably more competitive...seems like when peoples own money is involved, even just $1 people play way more solid - Im still going to freeroll here and there and hopefully the wild play will help w tilt control but I dont put much stock into it -

 

[EVA777]

:hmmmm2: Why? I do not understand! Do you think that middle-aged people play worse?:damnmate:

Hi, I think they meant that number of the people left in the tournament, if say 500 people started and only 30 or so are remaining, usually these remaining ones are pretty
good[/QUOTE]

:heeeellllThis is understandable, thank you! I wanted to stand up for the players at the age I am. We are old people, very calmly and deliberately playing!

 

[VictorOd]

Be strong, separate freerolls from games with buy-ins in your mind It's hard but doable.

 

[williamsc99]

if you are a winning player there is no such thing as the players are making absurd moves. These moves will only increase the advantage of a winning player. As you move up the limits things are getting harder

 

[dewroach]

I've recently been playing more poker online and usually like to get back in to the swing of things by playing a couple of freerolls. Lately I've been feeling like the play is so wild and random that the variance from bad players making horrible plays just makes it feel like adjusting to such "wild-style play" will over all hurt my game once I get back into playing micro and mid stakes tourneys. Am I right or just over analyzing??..

I feel the same way, but I don't think it hurts. If anything it teaches you skills on how to handle wild and crazy players. In fact, there is a similar issue with people that have a large bankroll. To them, a $10 poker game is pocket change and they will act much more wild and crazy even if they know how to play poker for real.

 

[Lucas Isaia]

Im a real donk in the first hands. Its free so...

 

[Zikasamaster]

If you play only freroollsyou can harm your play,more bad players,more players play just to finish tournament,so beginning of tournament is wild,but late if you going deeps you can find some good player.....

 

[ammje]

I do not think the difference playing in freerolls and low or middle tournaments, freerolls is that you have to play harder, you have to increase aggression, and the size of your bets.

 

[pancho_1954]

so are the freerolls, often we must adapt to that style as you say, it is not easy to try to play well against players who do not, you just have to try not to adopt those bad habits for important tournaments

 

[agriggy]

I've recently been playing more poker online and usually like to get back in to the swing of things by playing a couple of freerolls. Lately I've been feeling like the play is so wild and random that the variance from bad players making horrible plays just makes it feel like adjusting to such "wild-style play" will over all hurt my game once I get back into playing micro and mid stakes tourneys. Am I right or just over analyzing??..

Bad, develops bad habits

 

[Tatomircg]

I've recently been playing more poker online and usually like to get back in to the swing of things by playing a couple of freerolls. Lately I've been feeling like the play is so wild and random that the variance from bad players making horrible plays just makes it feel like adjusting to such "wild-style play" will over all hurt my game once I get back into playing micro and mid stakes tourneys. Am I right or just over analyzing??..

at freerolls are players that don t give a shit.....because if u play ur money...and lets say u put alot....u will play real poker....u have to take care at those olayers and that is it......ussualy that is the first hour.....after an hour they will play serios

 

[mrbond8844]

freerolls are decent for practice but otherwise they're kind of a waste of time, no sense in playing for 3 hours for a couple dollars lmao.

 

[Ronaldo7]

You should be able to change gears on any tournament depending how table behaves. So it might be practice for some agressive tables you might be on in future!

 

[Hustlerest86]

Freeroll play

I agree with the wild style play of freerolls. I do believe it will hurt you once back into the mix of things. It seems 85% of freeroll players push all in at the beginning to set a stack and then sit out till an actual playing hand comes available. Shit way to play but that is what you'll have to deal with from freerolls. Start out with micro to get back into the mix and then upgrade. Friendly reminder to only play 10% of your bankroll.

 

[MikeCarasone]

When playing free rolls one must realize some players are horribly bad and they need to expect the worst . Players aren’t investing anything more than time so they will play any cards and take many chances. Often you will see people shoving any 2, or calling all in just to chip up. You must mentally prepare for these antics. The play in later levels gets more realistic but some of those players that shoved any 2 and got lucky may still be in. Play with caution. If you are trying to get practice it is possible. You have to read the players and differentiate the good and bad. It can be frustrating but there can be some benefits as well. Obviously not all tournament play is like free rolls. The CardsChat freeroll tends to be more competitive.

 

[radartodd69]

I think you've got to develop the habit of not having habits. Every poker hand is different than all the prior poker hands you have played. The odd's of the next hand playing out exactly like the prior hand is astronomical. So you have to develop a way to change gears according to the game and hand you are currently playing. So playing freerolls will help you learn to make adjustments as a game continues.

 

[gjwalk]

Some freerolls are better than others. The ones offered here are good practice for higher stake games as the players tend to protect their stacks a little more. For some, freerolls might do more harm than good if they allow themselves to develop some bad habits. It's best to separate the two types of games and play them accordingly.

 

[Pokericon08]

Learning

Freerolls are good for newbies learning the game. They just have to understand that it's a different game when money is paid for entry. You have nothing to lose in a freeroll so people play very loose.

 

[Soulguard]

freerolls are fun .. its obviosly like push call allins .. the strategy of poker early is just ridicouls I found that early if u have any good hand u just push all in even with 100bb pre even if u open .. u will get calls from ridicouls hands ... that will bring you a stack to play longer deep and give u a chance to win ... that said I have won one good one .. 314$ for 1st it was good pay for a freeroll, but most u will get busted early by some 38s early... which when u dont pay for reggistering its just not that much of a problem

 

[pecam]

I've recently been playing more poker online and usually like to get back in to the swing of things by playing a couple of freerolls. Lately I've been feeling like the play is so wild and random that the variance from bad players making horrible plays just makes it feel like adjusting to such "wild-style play" will over all hurt my game once I get back into playing micro and mid stakes tourneys. Am I right or just over analyzing??..

if they make horrible mistakes than it is easier to take their ship. you just cant bluff wth them but when you have a good hand, you can take all

 

[gravac]

Wait wait and wait for the right hand if bad decisions are so common then you will hit them BIG time just with the right hand. stayyy soberr