How to play freerolls part two
This was published 18-08-2010This article is a follow up on the article How to play freerolls part one, which you will also find in this poker strategy section. We recommend that you first read How to play freerolls part one, to fully understand this article.
A poker free roll has three distinct stages: the early stage, the late stage and the final table. Let’s look at how you should play in the early stage of a free roll tournament. In the free roll early stage, it won’t be possibly to get few players to play against if you are making standard raises. And even if you have an excellent hand, you don’t want everyone to be there at the flop. This means that you should go all-in ahead of the flop, if you have a very strong starting hand.
Before the flop you should go all in if you have relatively good cards like a high pair, even if another player has raised before this. If you are sitting in the middle of the table or at a late position you can also decide to go in with a lesser great hand, as long as no other player has raised before you. If you have a smaller pair of say two 6es and more and are sitting in the middle or late position, players can raise from 4+ big blinds, so long as no one has made a raise until then.
In late position a player can see the flop even if they have speculative cards, just make sure there has not been a raise so far. This means you are only calling the big blind which is also called limping.
After the flop you have to ask yourself if you have any cards to go on. Otherwise this is the time to bow out of the game. If you have 2 pairs or better cards, you can go all-in at this stage. If you have an OESD or a flush draw, only go all in if a few of the other players have started to put more chips in the pot.
