Freerolls how to and why

Playing in online poker freerolls is one of the most straightforward ways to getting a bankroll started from scratch. Sure, the money you stand to win in one of these freerolls is never a significant sum, but it is usually enough to get a bankroll going and the truth is, many of the best known online and offline professionals have begun their careers that way.
Most freerolls require players to post a real money deposit before they’re admitted, but there are some which have no such requirements. It’s these freerolls that you should gun for from the very beginning. After all, your goal is to get your bankroll started, and if you have to make a deposit to be allowed to play in the freeroll, the whole thing doesn’t make any sort of sense anymore. If you already have money at your disposal, spending time in freerolls is not what you should be doing.
Freerolls are almost always massive MTTs, and they’re a breed apart. Being good at real money MTTs will give you an advantage, but you’ll have to make a few significant modifications to your approach if you really intend to prevail.

The fact that freerolls cost nothing to register for will mean extremely loose play in the beginning. Nobody has any money at stake, so early strategy will be radically different from real money MTT play. There are several player typologies at action at the early MTT tables. One kind is the player who forces a double-up early on. These players aim to give themselves a good start in order to increase their odds radically, or to bust out right away and thus save the time they would otherwise waste and still come up empty handed. Still other players only play in the freeroll to annoy the other participants. They don’t care about advancing, they just want to bad beat someone out of the game.
Both these player types are bound to leave the game soon, which means you need to be extremely tight in the beginning to avoid the traps set by these guys. The size of your stack compared to the size of the blinds will also justify tight play here. As the freeroll progresses though and more and more players are sieved out, you need to gradually loosen up a little and steal a few blinds along the way too. Always keep in sight that you are playing in a freeroll where people are much more likely to call your bluffs and semi bluffs than in a different type of game. Given that playing the player instead of the cards is not really an option in the pre-bubble stages of a freeroll, you have to fall back on good old Level 1 poker play and play your cards. Bet your big hands aggressively. The fact that people are likely to call you down on just about any two cards is something you can exploit through this simple Tight-aggressive strategy.
Make sure you take advantage of the scare caused by the proximity of the bubble. Most players tend to tighten up once the money bubble is in sight in order to preserve their stacks and sneak into the money. This is when they are prone to giving up their better hands when bluffed.

Following the money bubble the strategy picture changes quite a bit, due to the following factors: there’s now real money involved and everyone would love as big a share of it as possible. Secondly, those left in contention tend to be better players, after all, they have managed to survive all the way to the money.
As the final table bubble approaches, play begins to resemble the final stages of a real money MTT more and more. Creative plays become much more efficient, though another problem now rears its head: due to the escalating blinds and the mounting pressure on players’ stacks, the luck factor creeps back into the game big time.
Make sure you practice short-handed and even heads-up play: in a freeroll, as in any MTT, your goal should be to win and not to just make the money.

Good post, I enjoyed reading it.

Playing in online poker freerolls is one of the most straightforward ways to getting a bankroll started from scratch. Sure, the money you stand to win in one of these freerolls is never a significant sum, but it is usually enough to get a bankroll going and the truth is, many of the best known online and offline professionals have begun their careers that way.
Most freerolls require players to post a real money deposit before they’re admitted, but there are some which have no such requirements. It’s these freerolls that you should gun for from the very beginning. After all, your goal is to get your bankroll started, and if you have to make a deposit to be allowed to play in the freeroll, the whole thing doesn’t make any sort of sense anymore. If you already have money at your disposal, spending time in freerolls is not what you should be doing.
Freerolls are almost always massive MTTs, and they’re a breed apart. Being good at real money MTTs will give you an advantage, but you’ll have to make a few significant modifications to your approach if you really intend to prevail.

The fact that freerolls cost nothing to register for will mean extremely loose play in the beginning. Nobody has any money at stake, so early strategy will be radically different from real money MTT play. There are several player typologies at action at the early MTT tables. One kind is the player who forces a double-up early on. These players aim to give themselves a good start in order to increase their odds radically, or to bust out right away and thus save the time they would otherwise waste and still come up empty handed. Still other players only play in the freeroll to annoy the other participants. They don’t care about advancing, they just want to bad beat someone out of the game.
Both these player types are bound to leave the game soon, which means you need to be extremely tight in the beginning to avoid the traps set by these guys. The size of your stack compared to the size of the blinds will also justify tight play here. As the freeroll progresses though and more and more players are sieved out, you need to gradually loosen up a little and steal a few blinds along the way too. Always keep in sight that you are playing in a freeroll where people are much more likely to call your bluffs and semi bluffs than in a different type of game. Given that playing the player instead of the cards is not really an option in the pre-bubble stages of a freeroll, you have to fall back on good old Level 1 poker play and play your cards. Bet your big hands aggressively. The fact that people are likely to call you down on just about any two cards is something you can exploit through this simple Tight-aggressive strategy.
Make sure you take advantage of the scare caused by the proximity of the bubble. Most players tend to tighten up once the money bubble is in sight in order to preserve their stacks and sneak into the money. This is when they are prone to giving up their better hands when bluffed.

Following the money bubble the strategy picture changes quite a bit, due to the following factors: there’s now real money involved and everyone would love as big a share of it as possible. Secondly, those left in contention tend to be better players, after all, they have managed to survive all the way to the money.
As the final table bubble approaches, play begins to resemble the final stages of a real money MTT more and more. Creative plays become much more efficient, though another problem now rears its head: due to the escalating blinds and the mounting pressure on players’ stacks, the luck factor creeps back into the game big time.
Make sure you practice short-handed and even heads-up play: in a freeroll, as in any MTT, your goal should be to win and not to just make the money.

Personally I play in as many freerolls as I can.I really like to increase my bankroll as much as possible with free money.but they are harder to win due to fish factor.😄

Good post, I enjoyed reading it.

I guess you hvn,t played me...because it wouldn,t get higher

Bet absurd amounts when you have a hand. People call. I don't know why but they call with almost zero shot for almost all their chips. Big Bet in freeroll means Bluff to noobs. Take full advantage. Forget anything you've read about 3x 4x bb stuff and think more in terms of stack half stack type bets. If nobody calls after a while bluff and show then go back to normal. GL.

I completely agree with BostonRobber. The check button is very rarely used early on in some of these freerolls. I never try to hide the fact that I have a big hand. I just keep on firing big bets and watching the donkeys check/call all there chips time after time. Every once in a while they suck out on you but overall they will lose.

Playing in online poker freerolls is one of the most straightforward ways to getting a bankroll started from scratch. Sure, the money you stand to win in one of these freerolls is never a significant sum, but it is usually enough to get a bankroll going and the truth is, many of the best known online and offline professionals have begun their careers that way.
Most freerolls require players to post a real money deposit before they’re admitted, but there are some which have no such requirements. It’s these freerolls that you should gun for from the very beginning. After all, your goal is to get your bankroll started, and if you have to make a deposit to be allowed to play in the freeroll, the whole thing doesn’t make any sort of sense anymore. If you already have money at your disposal, spending time in freerolls is not what you should be doing.
Freerolls are almost always massive MTTs, and they’re a breed apart. Being good at real money MTTs will give you an advantage, but you’ll have to make a few significant modifications to your approach if you really intend to prevail.

The fact that freerolls cost nothing to register for will mean extremely loose play in the beginning. Nobody has any money at stake, so early strategy will be radically different from real money MTT play. There are several player typologies at action at the early MTT tables. One kind is the player who forces a double-up early on. These players aim to give themselves a good start in order to increase their odds radically, or to bust out right away and thus save the time they would otherwise waste and still come up empty handed. Still other players only play in the freeroll to annoy the other participants. They don’t care about advancing, they just want to bad beat someone out of the game.
Both these player types are bound to leave the game soon, which means you need to be extremely tight in the beginning to avoid the traps set by these guys. The size of your stack compared to the size of the blinds will also justify tight play here. As the freeroll progresses though and more and more players are sieved out, you need to gradually loosen up a little and steal a few blinds along the way too. Always keep in sight that you are playing in a freeroll where people are much more likely to call your bluffs and semi bluffs than in a different type of game. Given that playing the player instead of the cards is not really an option in the pre-bubble stages of a freeroll, you have to fall back on good old Level 1 poker play and play your cards. Bet your big hands aggressively. The fact that people are likely to call you down on just about any two cards is something you can exploit through this simple Tight-aggressive strategy.
Make sure you take advantage of the scare caused by the proximity of the bubble. Most players tend to tighten up once the money bubble is in sight in order to preserve their stacks and sneak into the money. This is when they are prone to giving up their better hands when bluffed.

Following the money bubble the strategy picture changes quite a bit, due to the following factors: there’s now real money involved and everyone would love as big a share of it as possible. Secondly, those left in contention tend to be better players, after all, they have managed to survive all the way to the money.
As the final table bubble approaches, play begins to resemble the final stages of a real money MTT more and more. Creative plays become much more efficient, though another problem now rears its head: due to the escalating blinds and the mounting pressure on players’ stacks, the luck factor creeps back into the game big time.
Make sure you practice short-handed and even heads-up play: in a freeroll, as in any MTT, your goal should be to win and not to just make the money.

Very informative post. I play freerolls 90% of the time. I like MTT's and the freerolls help with getting that type of experience. A lot of players look down on freerollers, but I have won lots to help my bank from freerolls. Even more fun when you play with friends. X

:thumbsup

I have at least one freeroll going at all times, who can knock free money

I like to play the speculative hands hoping for a flush/str/set for a small bet
then flop it or fold it. Need alot of chips to cash.

Very informative post. I play freerolls 90% of the time. I like MTT's and the freerolls help with getting that type of experience. A lot of players look down on freerollers, but I have won lots to help my bank from freerolls. Even more fun when you play with friends. X

:thumbsup