Tips to Win Big from Poker Freerolls

When you join PokerStars you’ll not only have access to the best tournaments in the world but also entry into various freeroll tournaments. These are exactly as they sound – tournaments that are free to enter but that usually have generous real money cash or prizes for the winners.

Freerolls often attract a huge number of players and are sometimes easily dismissed as ‘crapshoots’, where only the luckiest player wins. That’s not the case.

Join us as we count down five top tips that will give you a better chance of doing well in freerolls and giving that poker bankroll a much-needed kick-start!

Recognise your competition

Freeroll fields often include inexperienced players who make predictable mistakes, such as calling too frequently or playing too many weak starting hands. Pay attention to these tendencies and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Rather than trying to outplay every opponent with complicated moves, focus on making solid decisions. Play fewer marginal hands, avoid unnecessary bluffs and make sure you get maximum value when you hit a big hand.

Tight is right

Playing too many hands is the biggest error that a large percentage of ‘freeroll players’ make. It’s understandable why this mistake occurs so frequently; most beginners don’t register for a freeroll with the intent of sitting back and folding hand after hand – they want to be in on the action!

When you have more experience as a poker player you can definitely open up your game, play more hands and still make it profitable. However, in freerolls it pays to take a more measured approach. Other players in the tournament will be raising and calling with weak hands such as low Aces, unsuited one-gappers like 86o and all sorts of trash. If you can hold back and focus on playing stronger hands, such as strong aces (AT or better), broadway hands and medium to high pocket pairs, then you will immediately have a big advantage and be more likely to win pots and do well in the freeroll. Suited connectors and small pocket pairs can also be profitable in the right situations, particularly when you are in position and have sufficient stack depth to play them effectively.

Your starting hand selection should also depend on your position at the table and the size of your stack relative to the blinds. Strong hands become more valuable when you can play them aggressively, while marginal hands can quickly become costly when several opponents are involved in the pot.

Don’t bluff much

It’s very difficult to make people fold decent hands in a freeroll. As they haven’t cost a dime to enter a lot of players won’t have any fear of busting out – after all, they aren’t losing anything if they do get KO’d. Therefore, it’s a bad strategy to try and bluff them with a high frequency.

Bluffs are generally less effective in freerolls, especially against players who don’t take the tournament seriously and are willing to call with a wide range of hands. For example, if there are four spades on the board and you suspect your opponent doesn’t have a flush, or if an obvious straight is possible, such as when the board reads 6-7-8-9-K, you may be able to represent a strong hand and get a fold. However, these situations are still highly dependent on your opponent’s tendencies and the action in the hand. Overall, your strategy should focus much more on getting value with strong hands more than on making bluffs to work.

Before attempting a bluff, consider how often your opponent is likely to fold. Against players who call with a wide range of hands, even a well-timed bluff may struggle to succeed. Focus on identifying opponents who are capable of folding and choose your bluffing spots carefully.

Recognise when the game changes

When hundreds or thousands of players are in the early levels of a freeroll you will see tons of reckless play, including players going all-in preflop with any two cards. Yet if you can navigate through those choppy waters – using the strategies listed above – then there is a definite point in the tournament where the remaining players start to change strategies and focus on playing for the win. This will usually take place around the bubble so watch out for it.

Once you notice players tightening up in an attempt to cash or reach the final table, you can look for more opportunities to bluff and steal the blinds. Also pay attention to opponents who are playing cautiously to reach a higher pay jump.

Your strategy should also depend on your stack size relative to those of your opponents. A big stack can often put pressure on medium stacks, while shorter stacks need to be more selective about the situations in which they risk their tournament life. Look for opportunities to accumulate chips without taking unnecessary risks.

Spend your winnings wisely

Winning a large-scale freeroll on PokerStars is not easy. Navigating through a field of thousands will take both skill and a sprinkling of luck. But let’s say you do it and scoop in a nice cash prize – here’s where the hard work really begins.

Getting a free cash injection into your PokerStars bankroll is a tremendous bonus but you have to use it wisely. Resist the temptation to immediately move up in stakes. Start with tournaments that suit your bankroll and where you are likely to have an edge on the competition. Move up gradually as your bankroll grows. This will help you manage the natural variance of tournament poker and avoid risking your entire freeroll winnings in a single event. If you try to spend it all at once chasing a huge score then the chances are high you’ll be back to playing freerolls in no time!