How to beat Poker Free Rolls
What are free rolls in poker?
A free roll tournament is a poker tournament that does not have an entry fee; a free roll hand is where a player is at least guaranteed to split the pot with their opponent. The latter usually only happens when there are two players remaining before the final community card is dealt, and one player is guarantee to split the pot with their opponent, but may win the whole pot if the right final card is dealt. Free rolling essentially means that there is no cost to them continuing to raise, as they will either win or share the pot.
How to win in a free roll situation?
Free rolls are a great way for players to increase their winnings without spending any additional money. There are a number of different strategies out there for players to win at free rolls.
- Start slowly
Free roll tournaments often attract inexperienced players; with nothing to lose, they often go all out and act a little irrationally and erratically. Holding on to big pairs and up is a good way to start, and as the game progresses players will drop out. It is often said that there is little point in playing real poker at this point, but later on you will get the opportunity to shine.
- Aggressive play
Do not be afraid to play aggressively. In a free roll situation your chips literally don’t cost a penny, so there is nothing to lose. This allows players to play fearlessly, taking risks they might not otherwise take in a cash game, but players need to be aware that they can still fall out of the tournaments, risking any potential winnings, so this fearlessness needs to be tempered with some degree of caution.
- Take advantage of short-handed games
In lower-value poker free roll it is common for less experienced players to sit out, as they are unsure of what they need to do. This means that it is relatively easy for a player to build their stack, especially if there are players sitting out or folding. Whilst it can be an annoying style of game play with little excitement, it is a good way to start and build up for later success.
- See cheap flops
It is always worth trying to see what the flop will look like before folding, as you never know what might come up. It may be possible therefore to disguise holding a strong hand and get opponents to continue raising as their inexperience will show.
- Add to the pot
If you feel that you are ahead in any way, it is always worth continuing to raise the bet, increasing the pot. Players will be likely to raise or call a bet even if holding a poor hand, and can give a huge advantage in the form of early chips.
- Play big pairs
Always be ready to make big bets with hands like a pair of pocket aces, or a pair of pocket kings. Less experienced players will most likely call, or even raise, even with a poorer hand, and those with a similar level of experience may feel that they can afford to play a riskier game and also call. There is always the chance that everyone will fold, but if just one player wants to tango, then there is the potential for huge wins.
- Don’t engage in idle chatter
On free roll tournaments, the chat boxes in online poker rooms tend to go wild with stories of bad lack (read: poor decisions and poor play). By staying out of this, ignoring insults and generally minding your own business, you will find that you put players on the back foot and can really get into their heads by not engaging. Poker really is a psychological game in many ways.
- Set your sights on the big stacks
Early on in the tournament, it is easy for inexperienced players to get lucky and build up big stacks of chips. However, this is not because of any particularly impressive poker skill; often they have played hands that they shouldn’t have and the nature of the tournaments means that they have been lucky enough to get lots of chips. This means that they will continue to play in this way, and as a more experienced player you can take advantage of this, and decimate their resources.
- All or nothing
Whilst there is nothing to lose, no one wants to spend hours to win peanuts. By really pushing and wagering big, and taking risks, you need to go for an all or nothing approach, and, as discussed earlier, bigger risks tend to reap bigger rewards.
- Think like a newbie
Try to get into the mind of a less experienced player, think of the mistakes they are likely to make, and then look at ways to take advantage of these. Playing to suit the situation and the opponent is key to success.
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