Early on in MTTs

[ChuckTs]

This happened in a Noble freeroll, yesterday i think:
Usually in freerolls, i dont even play the first 4 hands because of guys kamakazeing with nothing, but at noble, it doesn't seem to happen as much, so i play the first few hands if i have the cards
i got KQ, suited and unsuited, twice in a row, and raised to something like 3X or 4X BB ( around 60 chips or so ) and got reraised to something over a 100 chips
i usually would muck this, but knowing that guys play garbage in freerolls, i called
both times, i bet big on flop after catching top pair with a nice kicker, and my opponent ended up catching top pair + the rag that came with it for 2 pair
i ended up losing like half my stack within the first five hands and went on tilt the rest of the tourney, not able to get anywhere past 50th place cuz i couldn't catch any breaks
My problem/question is did I raise the right amount and should i have called the re-raise??
i mean blinds are at 5/10 or 15/30 or around there, so guys aren't even gonna consider a 5X BB wager a big raise, especially saying as how its a freeroll, but i don't wanna be raising to over 100 chips first hand and end up not catching anything
any suggestions would be helpful
ty in advance

 

[MicheleW]

From what I know - in early freeroll hands when the blinds are low - if you have a big hand, you should limp in (or slowplay it). Then if you get re-raised big by someone with a big hand or just a maniac - its much easier to fold and wait for another hand later on. He'll only be winning a few dollars in the pot with blinds so small.

 

[trentonlf]

ive found early in free rolls better to play as tight as possible and only bet big with the nuts, you might be folding a lot early and not winning many chips but it gets you through the crazies.

g/l

 

[biggamer86]

Early on in those free rolls especially you need to do your best to limp in with pocket pairs and suited connectors, most pairs will lose to 2 pairs. If you call an all in never do it early you need to make sure its heads up not with 5 people. And if someone enters your table with a huge stack of chips and its like 20 minutes in the tournament, you can be almost 100 percent sure he is a weak player and will call you if you have the nuts and you can easily hit a double up or 2 off him. Play no more then 15 percent of your hands at the start basically at the finish to until the final table, and make sure to get chips for your good hands. Amazing how many times i play and see a guy go all in on the nuts and gets just 40 chips from the blinds because everyone checks and he hits his flush or trips. Basically avoid hands like king queen and king jack and things like that until later, many people will call your bets and if your all in your odds are horrible. Ace queen and ace jack will get you into lots of trouble to in free rolls. Suited cards and limping in is your best bet until blinds hit 200,400 and people get down to 3 people or so each flop then you can play the ace jacks and ace 10s etc. Other then that i can't offer much advice.

 

[diabloblanco]

Why play K-Q, especially unsuited, in the beginning of any tournament where people go crazy and call any damn thing? If you stick to "made hands" like big pocket pairs, and A-K you have a good chance of having the best hand at a showdown. From what I have read and understand of freerolls, to be successful you have got to be able to stay above the fray until the fish float to the top of the tank belly-up. If you get involved in pots with K-Q against small pocket pairs or middle suited connectors, which many of these morons play like Aces, you're gonna lose as many pots as you win. Just because they're paint cards doesn't mean they deserve to win. You give morons a chance to suck out on you when he's holding 5-4os, and it will happen a good portion of the time. You have to stay out of pots you don't belong in. As you know I don't play online, and I have never played a freeroll, but the same goes for regular cash tournaments. Early on, keep your nose clean ans stay the hell out of the way. Let all the donkeys knock themselves out of the tournament and make them suffer when you actually have to goods (A-A, K-K, Q-Q).

*edit*

In the beginning of this post I referred to AK as a made hand. AK is not a made hand and this was a typo. Sorry.

 

[ChuckTs]

thanks for the advice guys
^^^diablo i mentioned before CCs freerolls arent usually crazy like other freerolls, usually no all ins first few hands thats why i was playin those cards
good advice though, thanks

 

[viking999]

I think one of the most important things at the beginning of freerolls is to try to find hands where you can see the flop cheaply. I'm less worried about having a great pocket than I am about having to go all in preflop when there's so much uncertainty. Even KK can easily get annihilated (in fact at the beginning of freerolls, when so many people play every hand, it will most likely lose). I look for situations like when I have a decent hand in the SB position, and I know the BB isn't crazy and won't go all in. Seeing 5/7 of the cards rather than 2/7 of the cards takes a way a lot of the uncertainty inherent in early freeroll play.

Oh, one more thing... the first couple hands of any freeroll I am almost guaranteed to sit out, since there will definitely be at least one idiot going all in preflop. After a round or two, I'm more likely to play like I described above.

 

[BoTY]

Just fold everything bar big pocket pairs and AK.

 

[Poker Player 100]

dont fold anything.

just play 7;s and up and fold if you are unsure about your cards.

i meant to say everything*

dont fold everything

 

[colin_147]

In freerolls, ppl will call anything and everything, it gets to the stage where you must sit tight and wait for those premium hands and maybe limp in if you can a few times

I dont have the energy to play with the guys that wanna go all-in all the time in these freerolls. I have kinda given up playing them

Its like another world when you move up, playing with players that are risking money, its a new game. Was reading an article yesterday and the Poker Million on LEOCOPP ($2,500) buy-in, over 400 players, not one person called the BB within the 1st 3 hands! And this was at the start of the tournament. Can you imagine this happening in freeroll!?

 

[BabkovAA]

I also hate the most when in frerollah are these guys who constantly go all-in, wants to play there in the evening and they are constantly all-in.

 

[rule72]

My problem/question is did I raise the right amount and should i have called the re-raise??

Generally you should raise an amount that accomplishes what you want otherwise don't raise.

Two good reasons to raise keep the number of players down or to build a pot. KQ in my opinion wants to keep the number of players down. Since in your game early in the tourney people aren't folding to even a big raise just limp.

Actually assuming he didn't get two pair until turn or river so you just got unlucky.

This early in tourney having half a stack no reason to go on tilt! Especially in these freerolls, didn't cost much and you could have easily doubled up. Just do as you've been doing, tight early.

 

[PW300]

Freerolls

Every free roll I've ever entered just appears to be a donk fest. I was curious to know if a professional player would have any succes in a freeroll or would they be like the rest of us mortals and be taken down by some donk going all in with 27 off suit out of position.

 

[sillymunchie]

Professionals gather info and get there stack even if they dont have the cards, its part of the MTT skill set learning how to get a chip lead even when you dont have the cards