Freerolls - Fun or waste of time?

LarryT503 · Mar 25, 2009

Fun if you have the time or need to win money to play on, but otherwise stick to the money games. The play is better.

konawajim · Mar 25, 2009

I try not to play them , they make me crazy. If they there are a lot of players the first half hour to an hour is an all in event. Sad thing is even the lower buy in are getting the same way

CrossCrucificio · Mar 25, 2009

freerolls can be fun, when you're winning. Surviving that first hour is the key. Thats where all the donks are firing all their chips just to double up as much as they can. This method makes sense if you dont want to waste your time. Survive this hour then it can be fun. The serious players of the game are left.

deumsac · Mar 25, 2009

The play actually becomes pretty tight if you can survive until the top few hundred (top 400 or 300 ish) in, say, a 2700 player field. Rarely do I see donks, and many players play very strategically, surprisingly. There is no absolutely wild play that I see often. It's good practice if you take an hour to make it to the top 300 or so in a 2700 player MTT, but if not, well, you got out early and you can do something else now, like sleep!

enno · Mar 25, 2009

Found out pretty soon that freerolls provided by the sites were full of donks and players who just sat out every hand (why play if you intend to sit out?) - so at first I didn't like freerolls at all.

However I heard the freerolls for this forum were pretty good so I decided to join - the reason (one which hasn't been mentioned too much) - if you are having a bad run of cards and luck in cash tourneys and are getting tired of losing to 2-outers and gut-shot draws, instead of losing money, take a break and play some freerolls until the tide changes. This way, you would be less inclined to go on tilt and play poorly. Been there, done that.

chigal · Mar 25, 2009

Private freerolls are generally worthwhile due to lower numbers of
players who don't want to look like donk idiots in front of people who
will be playing them regularly. I think that's why it's so infuriating when
pw thieves play because they don't give a poop what they go all in with or how they behave. Good luck on the felts!

KingCurtis · Mar 25, 2009

freerolls got me to where I am now...

lesson: they are not a waste of time

XPOKERCHIC · Mar 25, 2009

There are bad players at all buyins and very good players also. I try and play my "A" game every tourney, no matter the buy in, but there is always one maniac at every table. If you can get past the first break of any tourney you have usually out lasted the donks and freeroll maniacs. Working to get better at my game so I am going to play anything I can. X

micalupagoo · Mar 26, 2009

they are a real waste of time, believe me, i wasted 1000s of hours, but i have learned to play a much better game, learn odds, player types...as well as earning a balance (albeit a low one) on most sites- an ok balance on a few, and cashing out near 1500$ combined on a couple (been too long ago tho

.
i still waste my time on FRs, (tho buy ins are way better for many reasons), ..but if yer lucky enough, you get your first few dollars- which can make you your millions. and it sure is nice making a final table out of thousands- and i like the hat and shirt that i won- they are like trophys and are better than half a buck

gl2u

confuzd67 · Mar 26, 2009

I feel that freerolls are beneficial. In a freeroll you are likely to come across almost every type of good and bad play. You are more likely to see the way cards fall to the river (patterns) and you will also have lots of time to learn the best way to read peoples betting patterns. this is in essence a free chance to learn with the possibilty of scoring some cash.
JMHO

MrFold · Mar 26, 2009

I think they are pretty much a waste of time. You can spend 2-3 hours playing and then get knocked out by a bad beat before you reach the bubble. Call that fun? Even if you get a bit further you only end up taking away pennies.

I think they would be more interesting if they varied the type of game - how about an Omaha freeroll or Razz?

I was going to suggest a bounty element, but this would lead to even more all-in donking than there is at the moment and that is way toooooo much.

The idea from one of the posters above to multi-table freerolls from different sites at once is a good one. This might make the whole freeroll experience a little less tedious.

rubslotionskin · Mar 26, 2009

i enjoy playing freerolls...quality of play is different....but quality of play differs at what stage of the tournament too.....there is usually better play in the late stages of the tournament, especially compared to the first ten hands....
and there is no better way to get practice in other games (ie omaha horse razz n such) then just going out and playing.
as to do you meet as good players vs cash games or sngs for real money....i'm sure you do....but you meet more donks.....things get more clear late in the tournament.

Shylax · Mar 26, 2009

Freerolls are a good way to learn what to do and what not to do for beginners. It's also good practice for intermediate and good players (if you can't beat bad freerollplayers, who can you beat?).

And like someone saud earlier, the play improves after all the fish and donks bust out so it starts to resemble a regular tourney after a while. More power to freerolls, lol.

guppystew · Mar 26, 2009

stay away from donkrolls

if your playing freerols for the money. gl with that.
now the cc freerolls are very good for learning against 90% donk free players and you can check your skillset. There are always gonna be donk plays based on position and chips, that is part of the game.
not every hand though, the opportunity to improve and measure yourself is where the value is. CC players are very educated for the most part and i find that their tourneys offer a great way to learn and improve.
jmho

Zorba · Mar 26, 2009

The only freerolls you will find me in are the CardsChat freerolls they are both fun and have nice payouts. Rarely will you see a regular player at our freerolls going all in within the first hour.

jokerjay311 · Mar 26, 2009

freerolls can seem like a huge waste of time with the hours you put in and sometimes not even getting a full dollar. they are fun, but also frustrating because a lot of people dont take it seriously and go all in preflop with almost any ol junk hand, that'll end up crackin your aces or kings.
really it just depends on what you do with the money that you do earn. after it adds up enough ya gotta to build through small cash tables, or like i do, in mtt's. knock out tourney are good, since you can not make the money but get some of your buy in back if you knock out a few people. just dont play with too much of your roll at 1 time.

imasquare · Mar 26, 2009

I don't think freerolls are a waste of time, they have helped me out a lot, and it feels great making free money while im still learning, although i have a decent bankroll from freerolls at every site i play at (i have never made a deposite) i still haven't played a buy-in tournament because i don't feel good enough yet although i have won 2 CC freerolls. but i want to at least put up a fight before everyone takes my money.

popo12 · Mar 26, 2009

I agree....they are great practice and for someone with...

no bankroll they can get you started. I have won 4$, 8$, and a second once for 9$..They are good for when you actually build yourself up to 10$ when you can play in a few more interesting games...I will be back to playing them soon if my bankroll goes down below 10$. I try to limit my self to one deposit a month..this hasn't been a good one this far..

Flushbuster · Mar 31, 2009

Large freerolls are tough to justify, unless maybe you are playing anther tournament or cash games and you want to break up the lag between decent hands. But as far as being profitable, unless you make at least the top ten or better you get peanuts. But its fun to try some different strategies and just play crazy if you want.

Worak · Mar 31, 2009

Not having deposited my BRs would be 0$ on 5 sites.

That would enable me to play - wait - 0.00 real money games.

Freerolls can be a waste of time but if you want to play without depositing it's the only way.

Snowman1964 · Mar 31, 2009

Freerolls? This will give you some idea of how it's turned me into the gibbering wreck I am today: http://www.snowmanspokerblog.com

sharpone · Apr 1, 2009

I like this question

I like this question because there is no one concrete answer. Itr could be fun and a waiste of time all at the same time, it all depends naturally. Normmally you have to get some chips early to make it worth your time and then you need luck later to surve so really its a hard call. Im going to go with a waiste of time unless you win something!

munkchaser · Apr 1, 2009

i think free rolls or fun but can be used as a tool. say your in the later stages of your tourney. seems aggressive play really takes off from here and you can learn to adjust and handle the aggresiveness with out being hurt.

Roller · Apr 13, 2009

grafkarow said:
Not having deposited my BRs would be 0$ on 5 sites.

That would enable me to play - wait - 0.00 real money games.

Freerolls can be a waste of time but if you want to play without depositing it's the only way.

Agreed

Play without depositing = Play those FreeRolls.

Interesting question from someone who has won a few.

CryingAmy · Apr 13, 2009

If you're talking about the $100 2700 player FT freerolls/ merge $50 1500 player freerolls/ UB $50 freerolls etc then no- these are a complete waste of time for anyone except complete beginners who are looking to practice.

Private freerolls such as the CC freerolls are equivalent to about a $1 buyin for free so yes they are worth it for a bit of fun/ with some cash to get a bankroll going

The real value in freerolls is in special offer freerolls/ player points mtts- the more obscure the better! (less players)

I played in a private freeroll today and came 5th/64 players- made EUR 28
half the players were sitting out and it only took about 2 hours.

Played in a $32k freeroll, $15k points buyin, $10k freeroll, EUR7k freeroll, 4 $5k points buyins and about 15 $1k freerolls/ points buyins so far this year- some of these are like playing a $10-40 mtt for free and generally the play is much looser!

I posted a blog here about winning $900 in a freeroll (was a coin flip away from probably $3.2k) and reckon I've earned about $1.3k this year from freerolls (played just as many buyins and earned a lot less...) so in answer to your question if you are selective and can play solid poker, then yes they are worth it!

Freerolls - Fun or waste of time?

LarryT503

Rock Star

konawajim

Rock Star

CrossCrucificio

Enthusiast

deumsac

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enno

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chigal

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KingCurtis

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XPOKERCHIC

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micalupagoo

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confuzd67

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MrFold

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rubslotionskin

Rising Star

Shylax

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guppystew

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Zorba

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jokerjay311

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imasquare

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popo12

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Flushbuster

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Worak

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Snowman1964

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sharpone

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munkchaser

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Roller

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CryingAmy

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