Freeroll Tournament Strategy
Every poker site runs freeroll tournaments throughout the day with varying prize levels. Almost all of them attract a large number of players, anywhere from 1000 to 10,000 or above. With such a large field getting into the money is going to take several hours of play and some kind of strategy to avoid going out on the bubble.
There are many books available on tournament strategy, Harrington on Hold’em being my personal favourite, detailing several different styles of play. These styles can be used in freerolls and the fact that they are free to enter means you can experiment more to find one which you find successful, if you go out early just sign up for another from the freeroll list. I find it best to vary my strategy as the freeroll tournament progresses and being in the money is in sight or achieved.
At the beginning of the freeroll tournament it’s worth looking out for players on your table who have signed up but forgotten about the tournament. If you see some remember who they are as you may be able to steal their blinds by raising them. It won’t net you massive amounts of chips but will help to increase your stack steadily.
Often at the start of a freeroll there seems to be a mixture of conservative players with a few maniacs mixed in. The maniacs tend to try to double their stack quickly with all ins and large raises. This can be quite a good tactic early on as you can quickly build your stack and give yourself a more commanding position as the game progresses and the blinds go up. I like to play a conservative to manic style early on. If I have the cards such AA, KK, QQ, or AK/AQ suited I play very aggressively with large raises and all ins from virtually any position hoping for a caller. Other pairs and suited connecters I play normally. Don’t be afraid to try and increase your stack early on if you have the cards to do it. I always think it’s better to go out early having tried to improve your stack than to play for 2 hours and still go out outside of the money.
Once the initial melee is out of the way and the blinds start to increase I tend to start tightening my game up and playing my normal tournament strategy. At this stage you want to make sure you stay in the tournament to head towards the money, but also you need to build on your pot so that the blinds don’t wipe you out before you reach it. The majority of players will also have tightened their game at this point leading to opportunities to steal the blinds and pots in late position. There will also be a fair amount of short stacked players who are being killed off by the blinds, they’ll often go all in with virtually anything in attempt to get back into the game and with caution can be useful for increasing your stack.
I tend to keep playing the same pretty much until I hit the money. However just before this point you may find that a majority of players go ultra conservative hoping that others will go out, allowing them to get into the money. This can be a good time to pick up some extra chips if you have the cards to do it. Once I’m in the money I play looser and more aggressive again.
In summary try to increase your stack early on then tighten up your game. This strategy is by no means guaranteed to get you in the money, it is just one that has worked for me in the past. Because freeroll tournaments are free they are perfect for experimenting with different styles to find the one that works best for you. There are plenty of freerolls going on all the time, check the freeroll listings for upcoming tournaments.
