Online Freerolls

A couple of readers have asked me to write an article about online freerolls. Occasionally a site will offer a freeroll with some significant prize money and, of course, you should look for as many of those as possible. But, the majority of freerolls are for minor cash prizes, and this article will have those types in mind.

Many people think that such freerolls are not worth their time and effort, and maybe they are right. But, if you are one of the thousands who enjoys "play money" games on poker sites, you are certainly better off in a freeroll, where you can at least get some sort of monetary reward if you can outlast a large field of opponents.

But I'm not just here to address "play money" gamers. Have you ever found yourself wasting time on your computer, fooling around with freecell or minesweeper? Or, do you spend time on a games site such as pogo or yahoo? I wouldn't be surprised if you do, since there are usually hundreds of thousands of people on those sites, amusing themselves mindlessly, with no money to be won. So the way I look at it is, if you spend any amount of time on such a site, you might as well play a freeroll. You can still turn your mind off if you choose, plus you have a shot at some cash besides.

Just as with any tournament, there is more than one correct way to play an online freeroll. Usually, the correct way depends on your goals and your reason for playing.

Playing Fast and Loose

Some people enter freerolls just so they can act like a nut. They are not there to play seriously. They spend the first few minutes playing hands they normally wouldn't play, figuring that, since it's free, they might as well have fun. If it's no-limit, they will move all-in repeatedly from the outset. They have no interest in wasting their time. They want to either get lucky and gather chips quickly, in which case they might start playing for real, or else they will bust out quickly and go play something else.

I've spent years writing articles about how to play winning poker, so you'd probably think I would frown upon such a strategy. But believe it or not, I have no problem with it. In fact, if you are a proven winning cash-game player, it is probably your op timal strategy! It serves multiple purposes:

• The most likely scenario is that you will bust out early, in which case you can enter a cash game where you stand to make a better profit than you did in the freeroll.
• Or, you could get lucky and win some early pots, which would put you among the chip leaders. At that point you can shift gears and start playing intelligently. That scenario will give you a much better than average chance of cashing in the freeroll.
• Furthermore, because you played like a wild man to begin the freeroll, throwing your chips around without any regard for them, it helped to get the gamble out of your system. Many poker players have too much gamble in them, which is why they can win at poker, but lose at other gambling ventures. By getting the gamble out of your system in a freeroll, you didn't have to sacrifice any of your poker winnings. And not only that, it will probably make it easier for you to play your best when you return to your real-money games. You will have satisfied your hidden desire to move all-in with 10-2, and now you won't feel any need to do it when the real money is on the line.

Playing Slowly and Snugly

On the other hand, you might treat a freeroll as seriously as any other tournament, and I certainly can't fault you for that. In that case, you should play cautiously, especially in the early stages. As I described earlier, many players will act a little crazy in the first few minutes of a freeroll, and you generally want to stay out of their way until they bust each other. Of course, if you happen to pick up a premium hand, don't be afraid to play it. But be prepared for the betting to get hot and heavy. If your priority is to last for a long time, you might want to fold even your strong hands in the early going, and wait until the action slows down.

Earlier I said that fast and loose was the way to go if you are a winning player. It takes a big man to admit to himself that he is a losing player. But, if you can identify yourself as one, you should look to play slowly and snugly, for the following reasons:

• If busting out early means that you will enter a cash game where you have a negative EV, then your goal should be to avoid busting out of the freeroll for as long as possible. Time in the freeroll (as opposed to a cash game) equates to money saved.
• As a losing player, you need as much practice as possible. The longer you can survive in the freeroll, the more much-needed practice you will get.
• If you're a losing cash game player, you probably play too fast and loose. So, by playing slowly and snugly in the freeroll, you are training yourself towards a more winning style of play.

The Bottom Line is, It's Free

If you're a recreational player, just go in there and have some fun. If you take poker more seriously, then use the freeroll as a chance to work on your game. In either case, you're risking nothing with the possibility of some free cash. Poker doesn't offer many risk-free opportunities, but online freerolls are one of them. Do your best to use them to your advantage.

Matt Lessinger's "Bet With Less" column appears in Card Player magazine. He can be reached at mlessinger@hotmail.com.

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