I have been playing 888 and ACR free rolls lately and have found that the Tight Aggressive strategy doesn't work too well against 'Donks'. They seem willing to go all in no matter what. I have been trying a more passive style which has produced decent results. I will still raise 3xBB if I have a reasonable starting hand, but then I usually check the flop and bet or raise the turn, regardless of value of the flop. This lately has given me a lot of wins as the donks misinterpret my strength and usually fold. I realize this won't work every time but so far is good. Any comments?

I think you do need more luck to win freerolls, i know cases where in freerolls people register and then never play, so then when you look at the tables of some of the chip leaders, everyone is sitting out apart from them so theyre just constantly stealing blinds and winning every hand which is annoying and also people shove alot wider because they dont care about the freeroll as much.

Hello.
Interesting strategy. If you have good results, then your strategy is working and you need to continue working in that direction. My strategy is to be patient and disciplined.

Patience, Patience and a lot more patience!!!

Depends on the size of the player pool. The bigger the pool, the more aggressive I get with premium hands. You almost always get a call.

I thought this strategy was cool, I also tried to be aggressive at the beginning but many players pay for everything since it's free ...

Usually, I do almost the same thing. I try to induce a shove/all in with strong hands with a 3x to 3.5x bet. Usually I can beat their worse hand most of the time and reach the FTs.

I dont raise as often preflop as it really accomplishes nothing in freerolls. You can easily bloat the pot post flop if you have value and most players fall into the call station category. So generally I am playing passively pre flop and then post flop will be aggressive when I hit decently and fold all else.Almost never bluff unless you get deep into the freeroll. Once there are fewer players left (<50) you can start to bluff a little as people become a little more serious with their play.

Originally Posted by CDNMAN 42

I have been playing 888 and ACR free rolls lately and have found that the Tight Aggressive strategy doesn't work too well against 'Donks'. They seem willing to go all in no matter what. I have been trying a more passive style which has produced decent results. I will still raise 3xBB if I have a reasonable starting hand, but then I usually check the flop and bet or raise the turn, regardless of value of the flop. This lately has given me a lot of wins as the donks misinterpret my strength and usually fold. I realize this won't work every time but so far is good. Any comments?

Hi there,

If they are willing to go all in when you have a hand then you should be more than happy.
Unfortunately in these games you can't make any sense, you just need more luck (always in a tourney anyway) than anything else to survive the first levels.
Any strategy you think that you have for freerolls (of that kind) will fall apart sooner or later.
I suppose the circumstances lately were such that make you think that the strategy you apply works.
But not always as you say. Well, nothing works always here anyway.
I believe you should stick on tight aggressive ABC poker and if you hit you 're good, else gg.
And better don't bluff unless it's mandatory. And most of all, don't leveling yourself xD.

Good luck

I try to just stay alive for the first hour. After that most "donks" are gone and the game can begin.

My initial strategy is to catch the top hand and push to double the stack, after which you can play on different hands

My strategy is simple - wait for a hand and try to raise my stack while waiting for an early period ends. After bubble I play according to the situation, but I have never reached the final tables

I certainly play very aggressive early on try to double and triple up with sub-premium hands. that's also because I can usually enter the tourney two or three times on other skins. although it seems risky, but it's the way to give your self an advantageous middle game. good luck

Usually, my strategy is no different from playing in tournaments cheap (this is also still working)!

The hardest thing to do in freerolls, is to simply not do anything. I watch my cards get dealt and my blinds get posted, but, unless I get aces, I merely watch for the first hour. Free is free. It seems that the first hour is generally played recklessly by a majority of players, and I just watch them trade their chips back and forth.

After which, I've done two things. First, I haven't put my chips at risk while letting the donks choose their new leader. Second, I have gained the image of being a very tight player. The latter gives me a way to take down some pots just by placing a bet or raising because they "know" that I'm not going to bet without a solid hand.

Originally Posted by JAJONGLEUR

The hardest thing to do in freerolls, is to simply not do anything. I watch my cards get dealt and my blinds get posted, but, unless I get aces, I merely watch for the first hour. Free is free. It seems that the first hour is generally played recklessly by a majority of players, and I just watch them trade their chips back and forth.

After which, I've done two things. First, I haven't put my chips at risk while letting the donks choose their new leader. Second, I have gained the image of being a very tight player. The latter gives me a way to take down some pots just by placing a bet or raising because they "know" that I'm not going to bet without a solid hand.

Thanks for the info, I'll be watching and waiting at 888 or ACR, good luck

Well, I play freerolls long enough that I can say that you can’t play them with straight forward strategy, like the best to be is TAG, or LAG, or playing ABC etc, etc. To be successful in freerolls you must play with all of those styles depending on situation, and how many bad players are on your table. Sometimes you need to be passive, sometimes aggressive, and of course you will need variance to be on your side.

I think you need to try to value pone, if you have a good hand bet it for value and you can even adjust sizing depending on how much of station the villan is.

I either use the fast aggressive approach or the slow and steady. The slow and steady is definitely more profitable, and there's always one thing you have to keep in mind. How many big blinds you have. If you have above 20, you should not be shoving every hand.

Patience and just play premium hands.

You can't expect well played hands in freerolls, but you can always explore the lack of knowledge on the table to win hands without showdown. Just be patient, your time will come.

I try to stick to a tight-aggressive strategy. It is important to be patient and play only good starting hands. I try not to use bluff in freerolls.

I think you need more skill playing freerolls. Because, you are going to face large variety of players and exploiting them requires decent skill. Of course, luck is also important factor in freerolls as well as other games.