Mastering the Freeroll
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
By Staff
PartTime Poker
The freeroll on online poker sites is a beast in and of itself. In some ways, it's not even poker, in the strictest sense. It can be more like hitting the lottery (more so than winning the World Series of Poker's main event).
But in playing freerolls on different sites over the past year, I've definitely learned a few things. And maybe a few of the lessons I've learned can help you, so that you're not wasting your time next time you sign up for a freeroll with thousands of people in it.
Do I cash these all the time? No. Have I cashed them? Yes. I regularly play freerolls on UltimateBet,
Absolute Poker,
Bodog Poker and Full Tilt. Sometimes I play
PokerStars freerolls, but not usually (more on that later).
Let's start off with the basics.
Why play freerolls?
Freerolls aren't terribly great practice for real money games, in my opinion. So you're playing for the prize. Freerolls generally offer real cash and seats to other tournaments.
I usually play the cash freerolls. I am generally a casual poker player online, and don't want to invest a lot of money into it. I've bought into
PokerStars, but nowhere else. So I've used cash freerolls to try start rolls on other sites. If you create accounts, even without making an initial deposit, you can play freerolls with real money awards. So, by cashing a freeroll, you can diversify and start building a separate roll. If you're not interested in taking small amounts of cash and trying to turn it into more, freerolls probably aren't for you. But if you're interested in the challenge of bankroll building, and you're not interested in buying into several different poker sites, cash freerolls might be for you.
Satellite freerolls are just as common. Almost every site has satellites that can get you into larger tournaments with bigger prizes. The odds here are against you more than in the cash freerolls. Generally there are fewer "cash" positions. And even if you win a seat, you'll have to do really well in the next tournament. That doesn't mean it can't be done. It's just more difficult.
What freerolls should I play?
Well, they're free, aren't they? Shouldn't you play them all?
If you had endless amounts of time, sure you should. But freerolls, if you plan on doing well, can take a long time…generally more than three to four hours and up to eight or nine, even for the smallest ones out there. And you can play several freerolls at once, because they often run simultaneously. The more you play, the less attention you can give each of the games.
That doesn't mean you can't play them all. But I am usually a little more selective.
First, I like to play freerolls with a lower number of entrants. Here's where the
PokerStars freerolls come in. If you play in the middle of the day, you could be playing against 10,000 people. Even at night you are probably playing against several thousand. And you're only playing for a chance to play in another tournament. You can certainly try to play this, but I'd rather concentrate my attention on other freerolls, rather than adding this one to a list of several freerolls I play at the same time.
Next, I consider the prizes being awarded. If the freeroll is a good one, I might only play that one. For instance,
Bodog runs freerolls with prize pools of $500 and $1,000, with a top prize over $100. That's worth playing, and devoting some time and attention to. If it's $50 total, I might skip it if I have other games going. If it's a freeroll to a satellite, I make sure I can play in the next tourney. And, once again, I would only play it if I don't have several cash freerolls going.
I'm in a freeroll. Now what?
I can't reiterate this enough. A freeroll is not real poker. Think of it like this:
Poker is only poker if you care about what you're wagering. In a freeroll, you are wagering nothing, except the chance to win a prize. You've put no money of your own into the freeroll, so people play accordingly – loose and reckless. People will play horrible hands simply because they don't care if they bust, and they can win a lot of chips if they get lucky.
Only when the prizes are really good, or when players get closer to the cash positions, does the poker start resembling real poker.
So, there's a few ways to approach freerolls, at the beginning.
Strategy #1: Get lucky early
There's plenty of variations to this. Basically, you are trying to get all of your chips into a pot early. Why? Because everyone else is. In some freerolls you might see five or six people pushing on the first hand. Even if you wait out the opening rounds and play solid tight poker, you may be up against players with 10 times the chips you have. When you are dealt AA, and you have 1,400 chips, a player with 20K might call with any two cards and beat you. And you might be up against several players who are prospecting. Your 1400 doesn't scare them. They can afford to play every pot, and you can't.
So when you can't beat them, join them. Push on the first hand, or any early hand, with pretty much any cards. I would avoid pushing with an ace less than A10, since you'll likely be dominated. And hands like 3-5 can probably be tossed as well. Better yet, unless you have a monster (JJ-AA). I would wait until the second hand, when you'll likely have fewer callers and a better shot to win a pot.
The benefit of this? You find out early if you want to devote time to the freeroll. If you can start creating a big stack early, you have a much better chance of cashing. Slow and tight can often be a recipe for getting sucked out on by someone with a much larger stack. If you lose? So what? You haven't lost anything. You've actually gained time and energy to devote to another freeroll.
Once again, I don't recommend this when the freeroll offers better prizes. The poker is likely to be much better.
Strategy #2: Super tight
The exact opposite approach can sometimes work in freerolls as well. Since you know nearly everyone else is trying to get lucky, sitting back and waiting for a monster can be a good strategy. Take that uber-aggressiveness and use it against them.
As we discuss, the preflop monster is good, but can get you into trouble against multiple big stacks. The post-flop monster, when you've hit your big hand, is preferable.
Don't sit back and let people bet it for you, though. Bet out against the big stacks. They'll probably call you because they're bored. Or want to get lucky again.
Playing just the top 10 hands is a good idea, perhaps mixing in suited connectors. But don't go prospecting with junk.
The goal here is too build a bankroll through solid play, which doesn't always work. But if you're playing as much for fun as for the result, this can be a good way to play a freeroll.
Strategy #3: Prospecting
This could really be strategy #1a. But it's different. Here your goal is to see as many flops as possible before the stacks around you get too big.
This probably means skipping the first hand, and maybe the first several. Once the play calms down, call with any two cards, unless you are up against big raises (greater than 4x the big blind). Once again, the goal is too get lucky and try to build a bankroll. But you are giving yourself perhaps dozens of hands to do so. You'll once again figure out if you can get a big stack early, making it worth your while to play.
If you get past the beginning
Freerolls start resembling real cash games once you've gotten rid of a third to half the field. There will still be lots of people playing any cards and playing super aggressive. And big stacks will make outrageous calls. But midlevel stacks and small stacks who have survived the beginning are usually going to play a more traditional style of poker.
Remember this. Time is an investment, like money. If someone has played in a freeroll for several hours, they're not as likely to push their chips in the hopes of getting lucky. They don't want their investment to be for nothing.
But there are still two types of players. Players who want to win, or place very high; and players whop want to cash. Players who want to win don't care if they just cash for a couple of dollars. They only play the freeroll for the top prizes. So their play can still be unpredictable. The players who want to cash will become super tight, so be wary if you see them raising or reraising.
Once you're in the money
If you've cashed, congratulations. Now you should be trying to win. There's very little difference, usually, between like 50th place and 11th place. So you should be playing with the idea of reaching the final table. If you're short stacked, push with a decent hand. Waiting for a few more people isn't worth it in terms of additional money. Get your chips in with the best hand and try to get to the top nine. If you have a big stack, don't necessarily sit on your chips, but don't be complacent either.
Follow these tips, and you might get rolled on a brand new site!
