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.

play calmly at the beginning of the tournament and be aggressive when you have a high card

Hi
yes I also just go all in when the hand is there, and then have to read the others on the table, it happens that you land on a table with proper players who play poker :-)

Hello. My strategy is TAG. Patience, Tom Brady thinking, PT4. I can win with that.

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?

Depends on which feeroll,
888 freerolls with 1-3 min blind levels i wait for premium hands to shove
Dont try to steal some blinds because there is a lot of donkeys, so you are going to be called with hands like 89o, 9T. Those guys likes loves those hands, even with AKs you have like only 60% equity
They loves Ax two, anyone, you see some guys shoving A5s in UTG thinking is the best hand in the game.
So you have to identify your enemy (If you see that is an Ax shover its ok to call with some OK hands like AQo AJo, because you are going to dominate those guys almost every time with those hands)
If you saw some guys that loves connected hands and dont fold it, wait for 99, TT+
If you have AK, AQ, QK, AJ, dont be afraid to raise, they cant fold a top pair, so if you hit it you are going to profit! Like: Raise 2x with AJ someone calls, flop J52 rainbow. If the villain has JQ, JT JK they will NEVER fold top pair

Partypoker and Pokerstars usually has a normal format, so just play your best poker

Clearly best strategy for freerolls (and for any tournament actually) is to have no strategy at all

Never go ALL IN, unless you have ..... ROYAL FLUSH.

All depends on the structure. The CardsChat freerolls are great as less people and normal blind structures so the TAG approach works well. I play the 888 regularly and there are 3000+ players and hyper speed so you just have to get really lucky more than anything. I actually came 2nd out of about 2500 once in the $50 one for a whopping $2.10 lol. At least it’s fast going but you have to win a lot of flips and some when you are way behind in those types.

Play tight in reg speed tourneys and play a little more loose in turbos...

Best Practice doesn't exist. I try to follow my instincts in freerolls, just because the players are impredictibles . In the end it's your choice, but freerolls are for sure not for strategy

I think freerolls are not the tournaments that you need to focus on with your strategy.And the fact that you get something and quite well-says that you have found your way.good luck to you!

i try to stay aggressive with decent hands.

always keep an eye on your hands so you can find out who always bets more and who only bets when you have pairs or have strong hands! discovering this you can draw a lot of chips on freerrools!

Just play my game. Simple as that.

Any A10 or over is an all in , in early stages that is , because people basically push with anything.As the field thins out i try to play tighter and take advantage of position as much as possible .If it's a hyper turbo tho...the first rule, amy A10 or over is an all in .

You just need to remember that the start of the game is very attritional with lots of loose chancers trying to build a bully stack.
Play your hands wisely and you'll most likely survive nicely to the point where proper/sensible play begins.

But just expect to be busted by a sub standard pre flop donk going all in and hitting!

My strategy in frerolls is the same as in MTT tournaments, but in frerolls you can risk an all-in with bad cards at the beginning to win chips and not waste time












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playing a little tight at the beginning

My strategy is very aggressive , sometimes it work

If you are planning to win a freeroll, your opponents will give you the strategy to do so: You have to play poker with a mallet, rough and simple.


- Only play the good starting hands.
- Make big raises and big bets. Bigger than in a normal game.
- When you have a good hand, fire from all cylinders. - If you have nothing, don't bluff.
Most of the players in a freeroll tournament are calling stations. They won't fold.
That's basically it. Wait for good cards and then let's go

don't bluff

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?

in freerolls, it is best not to reraise weak pockets to JJ. but call. and strong broadway hands, you can safely push. opponents willingly call with weaker hands and will often be dominated. but this only applies to freerolls

All in strategy matters. LOL

Increase the stack or crash)

Well it is always to go rock to avoid losing everything

Originally Posted by 300HPGOD

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.

I usually play like that too, I try to enter the prize pool and then I risk a little more to get the FT.

first mistake i did was playing freerolls them playing real money tournaments... I was really good at free rolls then suddenly i went on paid tourney i got owned like helll.... because my mentality was people there also play like free roll so i try predicting what they had.... Best advice play small money tournement or big if you are new then go free tournament not the other way around

I have adopted a more relaxed strategy at the beginning, when I have a card I play by varying hands, for example.
I am aggressive with AA, AK and KK monster hands. With QQ hands, JJ play more passive.
Even with monster hands there are times when I play passively and I will gradually increase to increase my chips.
But in general without patience you don't get far. Patience has been my asset.