Early stages in freeroll

danshu01 · Apr 3, 2026

In freerolls I’ve noticed early stages are very loose, so I try to play tight and wait for strong hands. Do you think this is the best approach?

Gagner · Apr 5, 2026

If it’s wild and lots of all ins I wait for decent cards in position. It’s always kinda wild but you have like a good 20 hands to try and win one hand.

WladiYoga · Apr 5, 2026

Hi, I do not think, this is a good approach, because if a lot of people are playing loose, means you can easily win with any hand against them. I actually call up to 4 BB with almost any connected offsuit low or mid hand in the beginning of a freeroll, because there are just so many times that you have a 5-6 off on your hand and the flop is either 7-8-9 or 5-5-6, and you think to yourself. Why the f*** did I not put freaking 80 chips into this pot? When all they have is messy J-4s or even A-A. Of course, you can not call ever hand. But sometimes, with suited mid cards like J-10 you can call their All-In, because 90% of the field are hard amateurs. Or you can even shove 9-10 suited yourself in. I would only start to play a little bit tighter in a freeroll where the first place gets like 30$ at towards the top 30. Just try to keep your value under like 65 VPIP so that not everyone calls you with everything, and you gonna be fine; plus, if you loos, never forget: you can only win or land ITM in so many out of 10 tournaments. So, if you go out, it's not the end of the world. Go for the next one.

ninjareal · Apr 5, 2026

haha we all have ideas , I like to try different ones depending on the table mix , one idea is if there is a player/s that is playing risky but gaining
the other loose players chips...well then I simply wait and target the big stack , once I have the right hand vs that player = double up , fun levels
in poker

SOLO22 · Apr 11, 2026

In freerolls, there is a lot of variance and above all you have to know how to manage, to know at what times to be aggressive and, above all, in which to be conservative, you have to mix.

stil370 · Apr 12, 2026

danshu01 said:
In freerolls I’ve noticed early stages are very loose, so I try to play tight and wait for strong hands. Do you think this is the best approach?

i like yr strategy

moraeskvmi · Apr 12, 2026

It's a strategy.

Stringy · Apr 12, 2026

play slightly loose to try and build up a big bankroll

Kerasuss28 · Apr 12, 2026

danshu01 said:
In freerolls I’ve noticed early stages are very loose, so I try to play tight and wait for strong hands. Do you think this is the best approach?

I play also loose in begin, first 15 minutes I’m chipleader or out of tournament, if I’m chipleader I end up in the money always

sam1984n · Apr 12, 2026

danshu01 said:
لاحظتُ في البطولات المجانية أن المراحل الأولى تتسم بالتساهل الشديد، لذا أحاول اللعب بحذر وانتظار أوراق قوية. هل تعتقد أن هذه هي أفضل طريقة؟

I agree, I use the exact same strategy in my game

sam1984n · Apr 12, 2026

good plan but

ninjareal said:
هههه، كلنا لدينا أفكار، أحب تجربة أفكار مختلفة حسب تشكيلة اللاعبين على الطاولة، إحدى الأفكار هي إذا كان هناك لاعب أو أكثر يلعبون بمخاطرة لكنهم يحققون مكاسب.
أما رقائق اللاعبين الآخرين المتساهلين... حسنًا، حينها أنتظر ببساطة وأستهدف الرقاقة الكبيرة، وبمجرد أن أحصل على اليد المناسبة ضد ذلك اللاعب، أضاعف رصيدي، مستويات ممتعة.
في لعبة البوكر

It does not always save you and it is often a trap

sam1984n · Apr 12, 2026

According to my opinion, the beginning of the tournament is supposed to require some adventure, strength of heart and no hesitation in entering the game, especially when you have strong cards

monkeytilter · Apr 12, 2026

Not all freerolls are the same, some have big fields and poor structures (short starting stacks and rapid blind increases), others the opposite so it is hard to generalise across all of them but most are wild affairs in the early stages.

So you have a choice, sit tight and wait for big hands to win big pots vs all those loose splashy players or gamble it up with them - the faster the tournament the more willing you should be to gamble.

kmiarka · Apr 12, 2026

@danshu01 , playing tight is the standard "safe" advice, but I think @monkeytilter makes a great point about structure. If the blinds are moving fast, you can't afford to wait forever.

My personal take on these wild early stages:

Identify the "All-In" Bankroll: You’ll often see players treating a freeroll or a low entry like it's their last £2. They love to see flops but are terrified of calling off their full stack on a scary board. I look to exploit this with polarized overbets (1.25x to 1.5x pot). Most freeroll players don't know how to handle a bet that large and will fold everything but the absolute nuts.

Targeting the "Gamblers": Like @ninjareal said, target the big stacks who got lucky early. They tend to become overconfident and "spewy." If you can trap them, you don't just double up—you take over the table lead.

@WladiYoga , you mentioned calling 4BB with almost any connected hand - isn't the variance a bit too high doing that against 9 players who might all shove? Or do you find you can get away with it because the post-flop play is so poor?

BaldHead · Apr 17, 2026

Not exactly. Playing super tight and just waiting for “monster” hands in freerolls is safe, but you lose a lot of value.
The reality is that in early stages of freerolls, the field is usually very weak, loose, and passive-calling. Against this kind of field, the optimal strategy is not to tighten up too much, but rather to punish their mistakes.
Here’s how to adjust:
1. Play tight — but not passively
You’re right that you shouldn’t play junk hands.
But the mistake is just sitting and waiting for AA/KK.
You should play a bit wider, but aggressively (open-raises, isolating limpers).
2. Maximize value with strong hands
In freerolls, people:
call too wide
don’t know how to fold a pair
Therefore:
bet bigger (overbets, larger sizing)
don’t bluff without a good reason
3. Isolate weak players
If there are 2–3 limpers:
raise with hands like AJo, KQ, medium pairs
play against them in position
4. Bluff less
This is key.
bluffing against players who “can’t fold” is just burning chips.
5. Apply pressure, don’t just wait
If you only wait:
blinds eat your stack
you miss good spots against weak players
Best approach:
tight-aggressive style focused on value, not waiting.

choprav · Apr 17, 2026

aye big hand all in - youll get called by worse and bad beaten often haha

anasslaaleg · Apr 17, 2026

Early stages of the freeroll no need to get fancy yet. Play tight, stay patient, and let the chaos work in your favor. Chips will come.

kaynbergo · Apr 17, 2026

If this is a 2,000-player freeroll with a prize pool of $100, don't come up with any strategies. Play with a map in mind and rely on your luck right from the start. If you're lucky enough to make it to the end, then your strategy might come in handy.

OnyxD · Apr 17, 2026

I'd say both are viable but the more chips you accumulate the better the chance you go further. So playing at least a bit looser makes sense.

MishkaZL · Apr 17, 2026

danshu01 said:
In freerolls I’ve noticed early stages are very loose, so I try to play tight and wait for strong hands. Do you think this is the best approach?

This is probably the "optimal" approach. It's hard to call it the best because in essence, in most cases, freerolls are a game of bingo. But at least you will be able to play more correctly and with more discipline, which will definitely have a positive effect on your experience.

kunkgreen · Apr 17, 2026

Like almost everything in poker, the answer is: it depends!

Tournament structure, considerations about the players at your table, among many other things.

Not all freerolls are the same...

Bearing this in mind, we must adjust according to each situation... Although I generally agree with a more conservative approach at the beginning, we cannot take it as a rule!

schtiuky · Apr 17, 2026

It will work some of the time.

TerryBLE · Apr 17, 2026

Well, in general, that’s a pretty standard strategy for freerolls. Since the early stages can be loose and unpredictable, like you mentioned, playing fewer hands can help, but the table dynamics can shift that approach...

Early stages in freeroll

danshu01

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Gagner

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WladiYoga

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ninjareal

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SOLO22

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stil370

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moraeskvmi

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Stringy

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Kerasuss28

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sam1984n

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sam1984n

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sam1984n

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monkeytilter

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kmiarka

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BaldHead

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choprav

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anasslaaleg

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kaynbergo

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OnyxD

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schtiuky

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