How loose should I play these freerolls?

[Nico9]

Hi guys, in my city's casino we have 1-2 freerolls each month. Until september, the structure was:

2000 chips stack
Blinds: 25/50
20 minutes each level
Late reg and unlimited rebuy (5000 chips) until 8th level
Maximum of 100 players

There's also the possibility to buy an add-on (10000 chips) during the break after 8th level.

However, they've recently changed the add-on break to 4th level (blinds 100/200, no ante), meaning if you aren't going to buy the add-on, you should get a very big stack in this extremely short time (80 minutes).

My question is: how loose would you play this? I've tried playing the same way I used to (I've reached some FTs before and never bought the add-on or rebuy), but now I'm always too shortstacked after the 4th level break. Any advice is welcome

 

[RocwX]

This is the worst type of tournament for someone who wants to play poker with real skill. In 80 minutes you'll have people with more than 5x the initial stack size just because they chose to pay for that edge over the other players. There's also people who shove all the time just because they can rebuy for even more chips than they started.

Since it's a freeroll, take any decent hand, shove and hope for the best. You'll probably have to do that more than once before the add-on break. I don't think there is really any other way to build a stack in such a short period.

 

[Poker_Mike]

Seems like you will need that add-on chip stack (depending on the price and the payouts at the FT).

Or, not play it at all.

You often see a lot of fast play in the beginning of live freerolls. People typically want to double up or go home lol

Without the add-on you will need to find a nice spot to flip and hopefully win because you will soon be at a chip disadvantage (even with one double up). Right?

One advantage for you is that you probably are familiar with a lot of the players and what their ranges are.

Good luck !

 

[Minus272c]

Getting stack in freerolls are often easy as there alot of gambling going on in early an mid stages.

Play the stronger hands - raise alot bigger preflop and alot bigger when you hit.
Many players in freerolls dont care bout odds, they will call you down on any draw
at any cost. Exploit their lack of knowlegde

 

[gnashty]

freerolls

donks tend to chip up fast in freerolls......then donk out before the $ lol

 

[gnashty]

i 2nd that emotion

Getting stack in freerolls are often easy as there alot of gambling going on in early an mid stages.

Play the stronger hands - raise alot bigger preflop and alot bigger when you hit.
Many players in freerolls dont care bout odds, they will call you down on any draw
at any cost. Exploit their lack of knowlegde

ditto

 

[gnashty]

skill goes out the window.....

This is the worst type of tournament for someone who wants to play poker with real skill. In 80 minutes you'll have people with more than 5x the initial stack size just because they chose to pay for that edge over the other players. There's also people who shove all the time just because they can rebuy for even more chips than they started.

Since it's a freeroll, take any decent hand, shove and hope for the best. You'll probably have to do that more than once before the add-on break. I don't think there is really any other way to build a stack in such a short period.

fish generally suckout lol

 

[Nico9]

Seems like you will need that add-on chip stack (depending on the price and the payouts at the FT).

Or, not play it at all.

I agree with you, but it just isn't worth the money. They did this so everyone would buy the add-on (it works, ussualy over 90% players do it), but it's almost as expensive as a regular tournament, and those have way better prices and deeper stacks

Getting stack in freerolls are often easy as there alot of gambling going on in early an mid stages.

Play the stronger hands - raise alot bigger preflop and alot bigger when you hit.
Many players in freerolls dont care bout odds, they will call you down on any draw
at any cost. Exploit their lack of knowlegde

I like this idea, I'll try it this monday (next freeroll). I'm thinking on playing a really short range of hands, on every position, but really aggressive and hope to get callers.

I'll keep you updated

 

[Sorin Iliescu]

Depends.on stavlck sizes. Any pair, broadway and sometimes suited conectors

 

[AKQ]

In my opinion time is money and freerolls are running constantly on Americas cardroom, I shove quite loosely if I plan on playing many of these so I can either start with a decent stack with better odds or I go broke and save time, effort and my mind.

 

[Poker_Mike]

I agree with you, but it just isn't worth the money. They did this so everyone would buy the add-on (it works, ussualy over 90% players do it), but it's almost as expensive as a regular tournament, and those have way better prices and deeper stacks

I like this idea, I'll try it this monday (next freeroll). I'm thinking on playing a really short range of hands, on every position, but really aggressive and hope to get callers.

I'll keep you updated

Without the add-on you can sharpen your short-stack game.

I have done this in similar tournies.

I'm always looking for this spot....

Blinds are 100/200, I raise in EP w AQ and flop is Q62 (~1,100 in the pot) so I bet 450 and he shoves his entire stack (with his add-on ~25K lol) over the top. I snap call and get berated by the player as he's walking to the parking lot, "How can you possibly call that?"

I figured it was a rhetorical question and that he didn't really want to know how I called that. Insert super smiley face here.

I hope this scenario happens to you a lot!

Good luck again !

 

[_420_420_]

Maybe just try to be shoving more and willing to walk away from it.
If you get the premium hands and people raise into you just push with them and you will most likely win or they fold to you and you take it down.
Being really aggressive is the only way to go, if they donk out on you then just walk away, it is a freeroll after all.

 

[Dmytro Lysyuk]

Here is an obvious answer. Only in the case if you won the money in freeroll, and then lost them.

 

[ph_il]

Without the add-on you can sharpen your short-stack game.

I have done this in similar tournies.

I'm always looking for this spot....

Blinds are 100/200, I raise in EP w AQ and flop is Q62 (~1,100 in the pot) so I bet 450 and he shoves his entire stack (with his add-on ~25K lol) over the top. I snap call and get berated by the player as he's walking to the parking lot, "How can you possibly call that?"

I figured it was a rhetorical question and that he didn't really want to know how I called that. Insert super smiley face here.

I hope this scenario happens to you a lot!

Good luck again !

LOL. 125 BBs effective is short stacked?

 

[diego farfan]

the important thing is that you only go to strong cards and not be too passive in the game because trying to get to buy back you lose good opportunities to make your stack of chips is something that happens to most of the players. , the important thing is that you recognize that hands are very good to enter the game have in mind that at the beginning of a tournament the strongest hands are the weakest and several people will pay if you go up the budget or go all in

 

[smknginmaine]

I sometimes plan to start super tight. Wait for a primo hand and hope to get in with someone shoving too often. Sure, you can still lose but can also build big stacks if you can catch some hands and hold. If you don't catch hands hopefully your not down much folding most of the time. Take the add on, Play changes after that.

 

[neymar]

not play it at all.

 

[Poker_Mike]

LOL. 125 BBs effective is short stacked?

Nice catch.

So....I did not add-on...it was still so early. So I was "short-stack" compared to the rest of the table.

And the table was sooo flush with (early add-on) chips that they were overly active. They all knew when the end of the add-on was coming and so they were ALL spewing chips to get lucky.

You could double add-on. One now, one later, or both now. Silly structure but you are reading about my game adjustments.

At first it was difficult for me to get a handle on what was going on. But this small tournie was in a small live room that predominantly plays limit poker. When I made that connection it helped me to figure out what was up.


Every time I raised the table groaned (I was raising 3x for value lol). I had to explain to them - and probably shouldn't have - that I'm doing them a huge favor. Either they limped w AA and now get to re-raise me or they limped with garbage and can now jettison to a superior hand because I was just going to make it more expensive on the flop turn and river.

I was able to felt that player with 1-addon because he already dumped 1-addon and I had chipped up enough to cover his over-shove.
I don't want to get too far off topic - but there is my exhaustive explanation.

Good luck !

 

[Nico9]

Thank you all guys for your answers! I haven't been able to post here until now, but I won a seat in this monday's freeroll! There were 5 seats for 128 players and I got one of them.
The seat was for which I think is the most important tournament in my city (pros come to play it each month). I sold it, because I don't think I'm ready yet (I've been playing live tournaments for less than a year), but it's my biggest cash so far

 

[Tuan]

Freerolls are the easiest tournament. People donate chips to you when you play ABC Poker style. No need to do fancy stuff, they will give you chips. I cash out in freerolls many time and also get a lot of bad beats as well. It's free after all, try to have fun