Early Freeroll Strategy

A freeroll is one of the great features offered by many online poker sites. The great thing about freerolls is that you can win money playing in them without having to risk any money. In addition, since real money is on the line, the quality of play is somewhat better than you would find in a play money game. That being said, there are some disadvantages to freerolls and some strategies to consider early on in a freeroll tournament.

No Fold'em Freerolls

One problem is that because there is no money being risked, players are very difficult to bluff and will often go all-in early, figuring that if they get lucky they can double up and have a lot of chips to work with, and if not, they haven't lost anything.

In truth, this is not a bad way to play an internet poker freeroll, but if you are playing against players like this, you'll want to have a strategy. There are two main strategies to consider: An aggressive strategy or a conservative one.

Aggressive Strategy Early in a Freeroll

One strategy is to do just what these other players are doing and move all in at the first good opportunity. Remember, a good opportunity is not when you have 7-2 offsuit in early position. Someone will call you.

However, if you catch pocket jacks, queens, kings or aces, or ace king or even ace queen, you should not be afraid to shove. Someone will still call you and you'll probably be in pretty good shape. The downside to this strategy is that there is a good chance you will be out early.

On the other hand, when you consider that some freerolls get thousands of players competing for a prize pool that may be $100 or less, it may be worth it to you to risk an early exit in order to amass chips rather than play for hours on end to win fifty cents.

Conservative Strategy Early in a Freeroll

If you want to get a little more bang for your buck, an alternative strategy is to sit back and let the shells fly all around you, then head into battle when the smoke clears. With this strategy, you can even check very strong hands and let others bet for you; they almost certainly will.

The disadvantage to this strategy is that an opponent may amass a huge stack while you are waiting in the wings. However, if you switch gears at the right time, this can be a very effective way to play.