Successful Freerroll Strategy

[lukovnikofff]

Dear friends! I wanted to ask already quite experienced players in freerrols, share the successful strategy of playing freerrols! I think it will be interesting for all newcomers to see everyone's opinion, and everyone can take something for themselves! Thanks in advance!

 

[sharipov8090]

Freeroll and the game for real money is different only in that there is a price of loss in one case and disappointment in the other case.Tournaments essentially require more concentration and tolerance.So in general, play your game and what you already know about it and everything will work out for you!)

 

[abgvedr]

Well first of all i think CC freerolls are a bit different from other freerolls.
They are tougher then even some micro mtts on ACR for sure.
All the freerolls are a bit different. Even by poker room.
So i dont think there is any good strategy specificly for freerolls.
Just catch the table dynamics and adjust your play.

 

[sturbs87]

difficult question to answer

It all depends on your end goal. Do you just want to make it to the cash payout, or win it all. To even make it to a cash payout you have to rack in a few hands, sit on it and hope you have enough to last. I personally like to see if I can make it to cash payout. Most freerolls are played midday in canada so its tough to enter and play while working...my two sense

 

[GrannySmit77]

Freeroll and the game for real money is different only in that there is a price of loss in one case and disappointment in the other case.Tournaments essentially require more concentration and tolerance.So in general, play your game and what you already know about it and everything will work out for you!)

I agree, the strategy is different. With freerolls I've seen players go " all in " preflop with 2 3 not suited. You just don't see that in most tournaments. I don't think playing freerolls helps you improve your poker game.

 

[venycyos]

I agree, the strategy is different. With the freerolls, I saw players go all-in pre-flop with 2 3's unsuitable. You just don't see it in most tournaments. I don't think playing freerolls will help you improve your poker game.

I am obliged to agree with you, I believe that the role of free is only to form a small bank for the real game.

But it is clear that the good free strategy - one of them is when you have high betting value, go and pay you with nothing, when you don't have only fold - especially in the first hour of the tournament.

 

[abgvedr]

I agree, the strategy is different. With freerolls I've seen players go " all in " preflop with 2 3 not suited. You just don't see that in most tournaments. I don't think playing freerolls helps you improve your poker game.

How does that not help you improve your game?
This is a valid strategy and im sure that on high limits people sometimes would push al in with air.
This stuff on freerolls teaches you that
1. It could happen. If someones al in he might be just yanking your chain.
2. If this happens too often - tighten up your game and catch em with good hand.
And this helps you to improve your game.

 

[abgvedr]

How does that not help you improve your game?
This is a valid strategy and im sure that on high limits people sometimes would push al in with air.
This stuff on freerolls teaches you that
1. It could happen. If someones al in he might be just yanking your chain.
2. If this happens too often - tighten up your game and catch em with good hand.
And this helps you to improve your game.

Those are some basic improvements but very much needed.
Any bad play could be beaten with correct strategy.
If you cannot beat freerolls then you beter not move to micros.

 

[CERRATO505]

Play your game at the beginning of the free tournaments there are many players pulling all in with anything to see if they make chips if you manage to catch them and make chips then play solid you make sure you at least enter the prizes

 

[Jon Poker]

A good solid basic poker strategy is more than enough to win at freerolls. Just understand freerolls are extremely high variance and MTTs in general are tough enough to win without abnormal variance. In a nutshell - it will not be uncommon to play a winning poker strategy and still not win a freeroll for 150 games or more. Its just math.

Personally, for anyone aspiring to make real $$ from poker I think freerolls are a waste of time. I'd rather pay $1.65 and grind for 5-7 hours to win $300‐$400 instead of grinding for hours only to win $10‐$25. Some players just want the challenge to build their roll from absolutely nothing - and that's fine if that is your goal - but if you are serious about making money on poker - invest in yourself, throw up a deposit, use good BRM and play in games that will actually net you a decent ROI for your time. Just my take on the situation.

If you are playing recreationally and mainly for fun, freerolls and super micros are probably right up your alley.

 

[Jon Poker]

Those are some basic improvements but very much needed.
Any bad play could be beaten with correct strategy.
If you cannot beat freerolls then you beter not move to micros.

I disagree with this whole heartedly. I think freerolls and micros play VERY similarly and that freerolls themselves have more variance than alot of micro tournaments. Massive fields with players having no investment in themselves is a recipe for chaos. Most people won't value a 50c buy in, but there at least some who do. Plus at the end of the day, I think the skill edge it takes to beat both is the same.

In my opinion, most games $5 and under have the same game tendencies from their player pools with alot of the same regs floating around - i think you start to see a noticeable difference when you move up to $11 games and another big skill jump when you start playing $33s and $55s - there are crushers at those levels. There are even some really good players at the $5 levels on some platforms - some of them playing those stakes for fun, others playing them to replenish/build a new roll.

 

[abgvedr]

I don't really get it, what exactly you don't aggree with me?
Well. Recipie for chaos you say. Do you mean they are unbeatable?
I don't know i have not much problems with freerolls. I mean i don't mean winning em all. But i finish in freerolls with more success then micro mtts.
What i mean by 'Beating freerolls' is - winning few bucks here and there.

I disagree with this whole heartedly. I think freerolls and micros play VERY similarly and that freerolls themselves have more variance than alot of micro tournaments. Massive fields with players having no investment in themselves is a recipe for chaos. Most people won't value a 50c buy in, but there at least some who do. Plus at the end of the day, I think the skill edge it takes to beat both is the same.

In my opinion, most games $5 and under have the same game tendencies from their player pools with alot of the same regs floating around - i think you start to see a noticeable difference when you move up to $11 games and another big skill jump when you start playing $33s and $55s - there are crushers at those levels. There are even some really good players at the $5 levels on some platforms - some of them playing those stakes for fun, others playing them to replenish/build a new roll.

 

[Jon Poker]

I don't really get it, what exactly you don't aggree with me?
Well. Recipie for chaos you say. Do you mean they are unbeatable?
I don't know i have not much problems with freerolls. I mean i don't mean winning em all. But i finish in freerolls with more success then micro mtts.
What i mean by 'Beating freerolls' is - winning few bucks here and there.

I dont agree with your opinion that if you cannot beat freerolls that you should not move up to micro stakes. I think the skill set it takes to beat both stakes is the same. That's all. Then I elaborated on what the general player pool skill set level is based on buy in amount - all of these opinions from my own personal view. That's all. I wasn't questioning your abilities or success.

 

[abgvedr]

I dont agree with your opinion that if you cannot beat freerolls that you should not move up to micro stakes. I think the skill set it takes to beat both stakes is the same. That's all. Then I elaborated on what the general player pool skill set level is based on buy in amount - all of these opinions from my own personal view. That's all. I wasn't questioning your abilities or success.

I just thought u mean freerolls are unbeatable cause of all the chaos.
I did not think you questioning my abilities
Now. Okay. You say skill set is the same.
But buy-in for freerolls is 0$, buy-in for micros is not 0$.
Therefore if you cannot beat freerolls - you just gonna lose money in micros.

 

[iwont20]

you can do very well in these freerolls if you more or less know poker and you're a new guy/girl on the block until regular players know you / your playing style. After that - just have patience and know how to exploit the weaknesses of players, but be prepared it won't be as easy as in the beginning

p.s. by "these" freerolls I meant Cardschat freerolls and other Cardschat tournaments.

 

[lukovnikofff]

Thank you

Freeroll and the game for real money is different only in that there is a price of loss in one case and disappointment in the other case.Tournaments essentially require more concentration and tolerance.So in general, play your game and what you already know about it and everything will work out for you!)

Thank you very much for your advice!

 

[slicheri93]

people donky in freerolls more than real MTTS so if you get a badbeat ignore it
nothing you can do it will happen again in freerolls and again cause a good % dont take it serious as they would a real MTT BUY-IN unless the freeroll is a good one with a lot of money in it lets say 10k only 100 players in it, they will play serious in those, but when its 100$ and 1000k players join they will donk it.


so play it but dont expect a deeprun in them from the start

 

[lukovnikofff]

Thank you

Well first of all i think CC freerolls are a bit different from other freerolls.
They are tougher then even some micro mtts on ACR for sure.
All the freerolls are a bit different. Even by poker room.
So i dont think there is any good strategy specificly for freerolls.
Just catch the table dynamics and adjust your play.

I totally agree with you! In CC freerrols, a completely different game) happened to play only once but it is immediately clear that here people play more responsibly, think more!

 

[lukovnikofff]

Thank you

A good solid basic poker strategy is more than enough to win at freerolls. Just understand freerolls are extremely high variance and MTTs in general are tough enough to win without abnormal variance. In a nutshell - it will not be uncommon to play a winning poker strategy and still not win a freeroll for 150 games or more. Its just math.

Personally, for anyone aspiring to make real $$ from poker I think freerolls are a waste of time. I'd rather pay $1.65 and grind for 5-7 hours to win $300‐$400 instead of grinding for hours only to win $10‐$25. Some players just want the challenge to build their roll from absolutely nothing - and that's fine if that is your goal - but if you are serious about making money on poker - invest in yourself, throw up a deposit, use good BRM and play in games that will actually net you a decent ROI for your time. Just my take on the situation.

If you are playing recreationally and mainly for fun, freerolls and super micros are probably right up your alley.

Thank you very much for your opinion! But I will not agree with you! I do not think that playing freerrols is a waste of time, since you still learn something, but I think it applies only to beginners! Of course, this does not apply to advanced players! I think that many will agree with me that each player first played freerrols or at least tried to play them, and made some conclusions! Thank you for giving your time to this post!

 

[lukovnikofff]

Thanks

people donky in freerolls more than real MTTS so if you get a badbeat ignore it
nothing you can do it will happen again in freerolls and again cause a good % dont take it serious as they would a real MTT BUY-IN unless the freeroll is a good one with a lot of money in it lets say 10k only 100 players in it, they will play serious in those, but when its 100$ and 1000k players join they will donk it.


so play it but dont expect a deeprun in them from the start

Thank you very much for your advice! I never worry much when I'm moved in freerrols, I realize it's just a freerrole! But I always try to play it seriously, as I try some of my strategies, look at the reactions of my opponents!

 

[perrywh]

To all new and old freeroll players: Play tight and play a lot of them! You will win your share!

 

[Jon Poker]

Thank you very much for your opinion! But I will not agree with you! I do not think that playing freerrols is a waste of time, since you still learn something, but I think it applies only to beginners! Of course, this does not apply to advanced players! I think that many will agree with me that each player first played freerrols or at least tried to play them, and made some conclusions! Thank you for giving your time to this post!

I agree you can totally learn poker skills from freerolls. That was not my point - my opinion was that if you are looking to grow a bankroll and aspire to make money from poker, than freerolls are a waste of time. You could be playing other games that require the same skill set but you will have the chance to win much more money than you will winning some of the better freerolls. My conclusion is that your time is worth something - so rather than play hours for a minimal prize - invest in yourself and chase a prize pool worth playing for.

 

[Jon Poker]

I just thought u mean freerolls are unbeatable cause of all the chaos.
I did not think you questioning my abilities
Now. Okay. You say skill set is the same.
But buy-in for freerolls is 0$, buy-in for micros is not 0$.
Therefore if you cannot beat freerolls - you just gonna lose money in micros.

I still disagree respectfully - freerolls are higher variance than most micro tournaments and you will lost much more of them before you win one due to the variance. The difference is since there are no buy ins you won't see the loss in revenue. I stand by my opinion that both freerolls and micros require the same skills to be successful - if you cannot meat micro stakes however, moving up to/shot taking mid stakes will be bankroll suicide.

 

[dnadeau1989]

patience and luck are key.. but know that a lot of people will knock each other out by simply no discipline

 

[LadderingUp]

Yea if you can get thru the BS, I feel like the later stages are just like any other micro.