Free Roll Online Poker Tournament Structure and Strategy
Freerolls on online poker sites is not exactly a get-rich-quick scheme. In fact you have to love the game and enjoy playing with thousands of players for the chance to win small money and build a bankroll.
The term Free Roll means that some online gaming sites offer an invitation to participate in tournaments online at no cost to you. You can win cash prizes for simply enrolling and playing Free Roll Poker games with other poker players around the world. This invitation though costly to online poker site operators brings in potencial customers in the hope they play money games in the future after they register on their poker sites. But if you have the patience and play for fun without risk then you will love Free Roll Poker Tournaments.
You can learn quickly and not worry about your wallet. I've personally only won a few hundred dollars but it's a great experience and it's made my real money game better. I have better reads on players and know when to bluff without going to extremes. I've read many forum posts saying the opposite concerning making you a better player. This may be true for some, but in my case it has made me a better player. Some players believe that playing freerolls is like being in the land of make believe because there's no money risk. This may be true at the beginning of the tournament but once the risk takers are gone it's fun to play and the game becomes much more serious.
I've played on almost every free roll online poker sites and like to play the non qualifier freerolls. The qualifier freerolls usually involve more than 7000 players and then when you become top 100 you play on a later date with another 7000 players to win a cash purse of maybe between $200.00 and $400.00. Again, you have to love the game and enjoy playing for a long time, sometimes 6 and 7 hours.
Playing freerolls is fun and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the same adrenaline high playing the real thing without costing you a fortune. I've worked in real Casinos most of my life and know what a gambling habit can do to someone. This is why I hope free rolling can substitute the risk of losing money. In fact through free rolling I learned that gambling is a short journey to failure. I play for free and I love it.
Why play freerolls?
Freerolls can speed up the process of learning and understanding the various Poker Games and learning the basics and strategies. If you're patient like me you can build a small bankroll and use your winnings to play real cash games.
It's fun to play the big qualifier games to have a chance to win big purses. Almost every site offers 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. You may get lucky and go to the final table. Other have why not you.
Which freerolls should you play?
That's completely up to you. You can play 2 to 4 tournaments at the same time. But, the more you play, the less attention you can give each of the games.
You should enter freerolls that have a lower number of entrants. You're better off playing with 500 entrant than 9000. Qualifiers are also lengthy and not a good way to consume 8 hours just for a chance to play another 9000 entrants for a small cash prize divided by 100 top winners.
You can play $50.00 cash prize freerolls or $500.00 freerolls. I like a small challenge and prefer $500.00 and greater. Although the smaller cash prize freerolls attaract less people and therefor gives you a better chance of building your bankroll.
What's my freeroll style of playing?
Take you poker gaming seriously. Most freerollers play recklessly and spoil the enjoyment of the game. Play as if your playing in a real money tournament and play patiently.
Once the risk takers are all gone the game becomes more challenging and the players take every move more seriously.
Your aim is to play conservatively until the risk takers have all dissappeared. Patience is a virtue in freerolls. Although you can win lots of chips taking silly chances, it will come back and bite you in the ass.
This is my approach using the following steps.
Step #1: Try making your chip lead 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: Be Conservative when playing
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: Waiting for the good hands.
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 then:
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, learn poker games and have fun at no cost to you.
