Freeroll Tourneys
Freerolls can be fun and, hell, they’re free, but a lot of the times I find them more trouble than they’re worth. Playing a freeroll definitely requires an entirely different set of skills than playing a sit n go or a real tournament, mostly because you are playing against people who either (a) don’t know how to play or (b) don’t give a damn. A new kind of patience is necessary, as you’ll often see several players eliminated at once, and even going in with a huge hand is not guaranteed to win because you can be up against all sorts of draws at once. It’s very difficult to put players on a hand in these things, and so as a result you end up playing your odds in the dark. You can’t get mad seeing Aces cracked and you can’t raise your draws unless you’re willing to get called.
I like to play pretty reckless in these things. The best way I’ve found to win is to get lucky early and develop a huge stack so you can actually play some real poker to some extent. This isn’t to say that you should just toss it in whenever (though that does seem to work too, often: when I’m trying to bust I often quadruple up), but timed aggression and a handful of luck is definitely needed.
I started hitting these up when I realized I had a bunch of Full Tilt points left on my account after cashing it out earlier this year at this realization that it’s more of a crapshoot playing online than it is a skill game. For 600 FT points you can buy in to a 9 person free roll, the winner of which gets a $26 tournament entry chip into a cash tournament, which could then be turned around into some decent money.
Of the 5 or 6 of these I’ve played so far, I’ve made it to the final 3 every single time, usually the final 2, only to get completed donked out by going in with pair over pair heads up, or in another kind of domination. Which doesn’t really piss me off that much, it just continues to remind me not to rebuy into these damn sites. Online poker is such a joke. If I had a lot of extra money I’d buy in and play only hands all in that I know have to be behind, because that seems the only way you can really take down big pots.
Gotta love it.
Tags: freeroll-poker, full tilt poker, online-tournamentsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: full tilt poker, online poker
3 opinions for Freeroll Tourneys
jereme
Dec 8, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I almost always come late to a freeroll. Sort of a page out of Helmuth’s book. I figure all of the super reckless donkeys will be done with the all in festival if I come 30 minutes late. I also avoid calling an all in with a pocket pair and getting busted by never seeing the hand in the first place.
I completely agree with you about online poker. It is a freaking joke. I do enjoy the convenience that a game is always going and can be accessed in my home, or at starbucks, or etc. but who wants to play when you see gross beat after gross beat.
I’ve played holdem for 48 hours straight at a casino and never see quads.
But playing 6 hours of online play produces 2 quad hands and a straight flush.
Wtf.
Something isn’t right there.
Thank god I live next to several card houses. Gotta love SoCal in this respect.
Betfair Poker Player
Dec 9, 2007 at 9:32 pm
It’s not just freerolls where you have to be careful. The site I play at has many sports gamblers on the site. the small entrance fee tournaments - up to $10 can also be a dangerous. To sports gamblers $10 is a small stake on the horses or football.You just have to know how to play these types of tournaments.
A bit a luck is needed but if most of the time any decent player can get in the money.
My main problem playing freerolls and small stake mtt’s is the time they take but it’s all a question of personal taste.
I don’t see any problems with online poker but once again it’s a question of personal taste.
kevin
Dec 10, 2007 at 11:31 am
the all in frenzy is just way too much for me to take so I tend to avoid them
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