What’s the Biggest Mistake Players Make in Freerolls?

[blackstore0007]

freerolls are crazy. We all know that.

All-ins every hand.
Random shoves with 72o.
People calling with anything because “it’s free.” 😅

But I’m starting to think the real mistake isn’t the chaos…

It’s playing them like normal tournaments.

Do you think the biggest mistake in freerolls is:

• Playing too tight early?
• Taking coin flips too often?
• Not adjusting to wild players?
• Or tilting because it’s “only a freeroll”?

I’ve seen solid players bust early just because they didn’t adapt to the madness.

Curious what you think — what’s the #1 mistake most players make in freerolls?

Let’s hear it 👇♠️

 

[Jyco]

I think the biggest mistake is not paying attention to how other players at the table play. In freerolls, many players shove all in with almost any hand, and you need to identify them quickly. Against those players, you should be ready to get it in with strong pairs or even solid hands like AJ, because even if you lose sometimes, you’ll usually be ahead in the long run.

 

[TheniT]

The biggest mistake in freerolls in my opinion is getting into too many hands at the beginning of the tournament, you have to use the beginning to study your opponents and wait for the maniacs to fall.

 

[yomyyomy]

The most common mistake is entering several tournaments because you are not connected to the game

 

[ninocabral]

I think you have to adapt like in any other tournament and take notes from as many players as possible

 

[Ivan Basic]

There are freerolls where you can earn 10 $ at most, and there are with 5k $.

I don't think players are valuing them the same, nor do I.

I play very aggressively on 10$ free roll, however with caution on 5k

 

[thwenth1983]

In my opinion, the biggest mistake players make in freerolls is playing weak hands and not respecting the correct range for each position. The better the player and the higher the level, the more they stick to proper ranges. Since freerolls have many beginner and recreational players, it is common for them to enter pots with any hand. That is very common.

 

[letpic]

In my opinion, the biggest mistake is playing way too loose in the early levels

 

[ammje]

I don't think I take tournaments seriously, for example, I always try to take all freerolls seriously.
Another mistake is to play as if it were a real money tournament, in freerolls you have to play differently, make fewer bluffs and place bigger bets since the players are crazier in those tournaments.

 

[Oxinthewater]

It depends on your objective - it's not a mistake to jam wide early if your goal is to maximise the return on your time. Go big or go home is a common strategy for many players in freeroll who don't want to spend hours for an ev of $2.

 

[fundiver199]

The biggest mistake is to waste time on low value public freerolls instead of spending the same time studying and practicing in games, where people have to put down some of their own money. Does not need to be a ton but even just a dollar or two, when you are still a beginner. Private games or those, where you need to qualify in some way, is a different thing. These can be ok to play like the CC platinum freerolls on real money sites, a first depositors freeroll etc.

 

[Yontox]

Freerolls have a big percentages of loose maniacs that go all-in preflop, without a hand.
It's a good strategy to abuse these players in the early stages of the tournament, while playing around good shoving ranges when the blinds go up. People will fold too much or call to much, many times. Keeping ICM in mind is something most players in freerolls cannot do.

Playing the different player types at all times is a good edge to have when playing against other freeroll players

 

[flabilim]

OI believe that every beginning is truly crazy; you just have to play more cautiously in this phase of the tournament. After it stabilizes, it becomes truly playable. So, at the beginning of the game, if you're following...You can bet on it, they'll pay you back and you'll grow in the game.

 

[hardongear]

Their biggest mistake is thinking their going to build a bankroll quicker to $500 then they would if they started with $50 playing 2nl cash tables. The vast majority will not. And I've always said the race is to a $500 bankroll for the avg micro player who can't afford a $500 deposit. Why $500? Simple cause then you can play $5.50 MTT's on the weekends and cash during the week. Why $5.50 MTT's? It's simple.....when get that MTT win or final table it's worth the time you spent playing. Time is money.

I read on here this morning a guy who played freerolls for a year(no idea how many he didn't say) and just has over $100 for his effort. I won't name him cause this isn't to shame him it's only to prove a point. While making $100 off freerolls in a year isn't terrible or wrong I just want to point out on avg it will take him 5 years to get to $500. You can take $50 start at 2nl and with enough volume if you're a winning player easily have $500 long before the 1st year is up. And the competition at 2nl and 5nl isn't any different or harder then the competition in a freeroll. If you can make money in one you can in the other just as easy.

Freerolls are good practice and can help build a bankroll up too $500. Nothing more. Once you have a $500 bankroll they're waste of time. Too each their own thou and some people just have to things the hardest way possible.

Cheers!!!

 

[frank174]

freerolls are for practice ,hard to learn a lot in an open freerolls to many players just out for shit and giggles,now the CC freerolls are played mostly true much better to learn thru,but must admit I have played a few on tilt,even won a freeroll on tilt playing all in or fold pre- flop every hand

 

[kaynbergo]

I think it's a big mistake for freerolls not to participate in freerolls!

 

[fundiver199]

And I've always said the race is to a $500 bankroll for the avg micro player who can't afford a $500 deposit. Why $500? Simple cause then you can play $5.50 MTT's on the weekends and cash during the week. Why $5.50 MTT's? It's simple.....when get that MTT win or final table it's worth the time you spent playing. Time is money.

As you already know, I completely agree with this idea conceptually, but I would tend to put the goal a bit higher and say, its a race to a 4-digit or $1.000 bankroll as fast as possible. For a cash game player this will allow you to at least try to move up to 25NL ("out of the micros"). Which.... I mean... at least we have to try sooner or later right?

As an MTT player (weekends) it allow you to string together a reasonable session playing up to $11 games and not just $5.5 games. Which by the way some sites dont even have. On ACR Poker its either $3.3, 4.4, 6.6 or 8.8, so with a $500 bankroll you are still sort of stuck in the micros. But with a $1.000 bankroll you have a good game selection.

And finally as a SnG player on PokerStars a $1.000 bankroll allow you to comfortably play the $10 On Demand game, which is the only game, that has a low rake (7,5%) and also run frequently. And on ACR Poker it allow you to play the $6.6 and $11 On Demand games, which is the best way to grind yourself to a place on the weekly leaderboard and get back $50.

 

[dariana Orasma]

That's a good question. In free tournaments, players often play without analyzing their hands; they tend to play hastily, as if they don't care. I play free tournaments the same way I would a high-stakes tournament.

 

[sweers]

Playing to many hands

 

[hardongear]

As you already know, I completely agree with this idea conceptually, but I would tend to put the goal a bit higher and say, its a race to a 4-digit or $1.000 bankroll as fast as possible. For a cash game player this will allow you to at least try to move up to 25NL ("out of the micros"). Which.... I mean... at least we have to try sooner or later right?

As an MTT player (weekends) it allow you to string together a reasonable session playing up to $11 games and not just $5.5 games. Which by the way some sites dont even have. On ACR Poker its either $3.3, 4.4, 6.6 or 8.8, so with a $500 bankroll you are still sort of stuck in the micros. But with a $1.000 bankroll you have a good game selection.

And finally as a SnG player on PokerStars a $1.000 bankroll allow you to comfortably play the $10 On Demand game, which is the only game, that has a low rake (7,5%) and also run frequently. And on ACR Poker it allow you to play the $6.6 and $11 On Demand games, which is the best way to grind yourself to a place on the weekly leaderboard and get back $50.

I can agree......$500 or $1000 makes little difference it's the concept that has worked for me and I'm nothing special for a player. There's way more knowledge and poker smart players here then me. Of course the goal for most should be to always aim high as possible. Most rec/hobby players will be limited by time of course because they have a full-time day job and their deserve to work hard putting in the time and effort it takes.

Cheers!!!

 

[kunkgreen]

Sorry, but I couldn't possibly list what the number one mistake in freerolls would be.
There are so many mistakes made that it's difficult to put them in order... Generally, it's a more chaotic game, yes, but that's not a rule!

Let's be clear, these crazy things don't only happen in freerolls... You can see just as crazy a game in higher buy-ins, although much less frequently.

And we also need to keep in mind that not every freeroll is the same... Some give us much better chances because the field isn't huge, and the way people play can be shaped by the types of freerolls we're in.

I've also played many high-level freerolls (if I'm even a good parameter to define the level of a match, right?! haha) that also contradict this idea of freerolls as a mess, or that they require miraculous strategies to overcome this eventual madness of the game... so it all depends!

 

[fundiver199]

I can agree......$500 or $1000 makes little difference it's the concept that has worked for me and I'm nothing special for a player.

We are splitting hairs here, also because if you manage to grind your way up to $500, then it is only a matter of time, before you will reach $1.000 as well. Its just that for me personally I still feel very restricted in my game selection, if I only have $500 set aside for poker, whereas $1.000 allow me to play most of the games, I want to play. Of course more is always better. $700 is better than $500, and $1.300 is better than $1.000 etc. Most important is the idea to actually become a winning player, who can build up his bankroll in regular games, and not get stuck in the freeroll trap.

 

[G0930]

Agreed . In the 100K Weekly at GG you don't have as much insanity like in a small freeroll like raketherake where only 120$ are added.

There are freerolls where you can earn 10 $ at most, and there are with 5k $.

I don't think players are valuing them the same, nor do I.

I play very aggressively on 10$ free roll, however with caution on 5k

 

[wushibala]

In my opinion, the biggest mistake is going all-in early in the tournament like many players do. The thing is, in freerolls people often call with any trash because they have nothing to lose, and you can get knocked out with a strong hand right at the start. It’s better to wait a bit until those players bust out — the game becomes more balanced then, and that’s when you can start playing your cards properly.

 

[hardongear]

We are splitting hairs here, also because if you manage to grind your way up to $500, then it is only a matter of time, before you will reach $1.000 as well. Its just that for me personally I still feel very restricted in my game selection, if I only have $500 set aside for poker, whereas $1.000 allow me to play most of the games, I want to play. Of course more is always better. $700 is better than $500, and $1.300 is better than $1.000 etc. Most important is the idea to actually become a winning player, who can build up his bankroll in regular games, and not get stuck in the freeroll trap.

Yeah I wasn't arguing with my last reply more is always better my advice of the race being to $500 just assumes most newer players wanna play MTT's or get to playing MTT's as soon as possible. A lot of guys don't enjoy cash as much I sure don't. That's why I always say the race is to $500. $5 MTT's are worth your time when you final table or win.

So we do completely agree.

Cheers!!!