[wheeloftime]

how does your play differ between the two? should you play the same or looser? freerolls for me havent been going well. im doing well in the buyins but i guess i have a hard time shifting gears. i tried to play the freerolls the same as i would a buy in but it hasnt been working very well. so is patience still in order or is there another mentality for freerolls.

[Lytspeed]

In general, players in freerolls exhibit much looser playing styles. Therefore, they are more unpredictable than players with real money at stake. I have found that it is a mistake to expect freeroll players to follow any standard strategy, and have done best at freerolls and play money tournaments by playing a very tight/aggressive game until I'm in the money.

By tight/aggressive, I mean this: Don't bet unless you have AA, KK, AK, or maybe another high pocket pair, and then bet aggressively (at least 5x the Big Blind.) This strategy usually serves to get me in the top 10% of freerolls and play money tourneys, and from there, I adjust my playing style depending on the other players at the table.

[wheeloftime]

looser playing style. is that what its called? lol. I have other words for it but well never mind. yes i see what your saying. It makes sense and ive tried but loose patience sometimes and tilt. i have just gotten into playing more buy in tourneys and sitngos. the play style is totally different. I find i rather enjoy skill to blind luck. granted they are only samll buy ins but i like my money and hate wasting it.

[blondie_1982]

i find alot of people dont try in a freeroll which sucks because i do and then i get beat with my AK to 34 off lol but i like to wait until those people are gone so i play tight

[Laurie]

If I'm gonnaplay a free roll I try to find the Lowest Max. allowed. These 6,000 + tourneys are a joke.

[IvanDrago]

Very simple to determine this although i need to rack up some points here so ima type a bit . A freeroll obv is a freeroll which means that anyone can sign up, which means they dont really know how to play. I cant tell you hwo many times i see people just go all in with nothin, nothin draws and just plain old NOTHIN! It happens. I played in PokerStars freerolls when they could have 15000 people in them, 15000!!!! I dont know if they're still doing that but that is just crazy. Anyway it ended up being like 14155 or 14200+ people in this tournament and i came within top 100. My secret? Tight and aggressive like my buddy lytspeed said. Problem is the fact that people most people dont have a CLUE at what they're doing when they play freerolls so they just go crazy. If a table is loose then you most definitly need to trap and play tighter than a virgin. I did that and was getting far. Also never worry if someone has more chips than you and what not just focus on your own table, your own chips and the current hand at play. That could lead to the dark side of the force! Usually the people who are smart and know what they're doing will end up going the farthest in the tournaments. Now as of buy ins... told ya this would be long :P. Obv if a person has the money for a buy in they have to know atleast a bit of what they're doing and you dont see them go all crazy and what not... unless its like a 1$ buy in. But typically there will be smarter players at this type of tournament rather than a freeroll. This gets tricky because there are still people who dont know what they are doing on tables and some people who know EXACTLY what they are doing so tables will differ. Depending on the table you will have to change your style, but nevertheless play great poker and make great reads. Obv if the table is tight you want to be looser and winning small pots frequently and building up your stack. Or if the table is loose than play tight and wait for the hand and trap a guy. Either way it works beautifully. When players start to realized about the style you are playing.... change it up Just keep them guessing. Great line from a poker book i read from David Skslansky. If a player would play a hand as if he didnt know what YOU had, you will win. If you keep on mixxing it up they will never know what you got and will be stupid and sometimes just call you down with A high. But i'll leave that up to you

-Drago
To the End!

[wptdreamer]

People play like maniacs in a freeroll which are easy to beat in the long run, but not when there are a few thousand of them to wade through to make it to the prize. I play tight/aggressive, but more tight than normal since overall I stick to the tight/aggressive play anyways. I believe it to be the best strategy in poker, but since everyone is playing looser you have to tighten up. And when you do get the cards, you bet them big. One of those donks will pay you off with ace high or top pair. Drago is right to not focus on other chip stacks as this means nothing early on. Obviously you will be getting worried the closer to the end you get if everyone has you way outchipped, but early on it means nothing. I've played a few where after starting with $1,500 chips one hand into the tourney the chip leader had $10,000. Maybe they squeezed in a few quick ones but more likely everyone one went all-in and some lucky guy hit, and may hit more before it's done. Even if you only have $1,000 chips and you see the chip leader has $50,000 that means nothing to your table at this hand. It only matters if he is at your table because you always have to be aware of the big stack at the table. Play your game, focus on your hand, and be prepared to be very patient. Let survival of the fittest take its course and even if you don't have any good hands to get anything going the blind leading the blind will knock eachother out for you. You won't always place playing tight or even playing your best game. They may still hit 7-2-2 on your pocket aces all-in...all you can do is get your money in with the best hand and take it in stride when you lose. Don't get mad about people making bad plays, that's what puts you at an advantage, the fish. Don't yell at them, we want them to keep playing bad. If you have any theories on ways you would like to play different or want to play like a madman for a change then a freeroll is your chance. It is a good way to get it out of your system instead of making that rash decision when it really counts. I never plan on winning freerolls, and rarely play because of the time frame, but it's fun to blow of some steam playing like a donk on purpose just for the fun of it for free.