PLO Freerolls - do the work?

[monkeytilter]

freerolls are usually a wild affair, with very little/nothing to lose people play very loosely/aggressively/wildly, even more so in PLO games - to the point where I ask do the PLO freeroll tournaments "work" or is it just bingo?

Preflop I see it going one of two ways:
Everyone is limping every hand so 4/5/6 to every flop trying to catch enough of a piece to call off (so much passivity) with draws/medium hands+
Pots are 3/4/5 bet until 3+ players are all in with so-so holdings but usually with good enough equity due to the nature of the game to make a a strong hand a dog against the field.

Is it possible to play seriously in these games and is there an effective strategy?

 

[Gary_Heart]

Q: Is it possible to play seriously in these games and is there an effective strategy?

Maybe 9 handed final table but mostly .......
IMO: The more cards gambleroholics can see the more they get their jollies off.
And with seeing 9 cards you can bet the dogs will be in the hunt when they shouldn't be.
Unless there is real risk involved any Omaha freeroll tournament won't "work" - It is just bingo
Good Luck, Gary

 

[monkeytilter]

Trouble is by final table stacks are so short it's a crap shoot and people are getting all in early very light with such low SPR (quite rightly).

You're right about the lack of risk, people just don't care - I've seen this up to ~$10 buy in level, some shocking play based on pure gamble.

I'm determined to come up with the best strategy I can for freeroll/micro buy ins though - but I think I will have to accept the high high variance in this game!

 

[R.Holynskyi]

Freerolls are usually a wild affair, with very little/nothing to lose people play very loosely/aggressively/wildly, even more so in PLO games - to the point where I ask do the PLO freeroll tournaments "work" or is it just bingo?

Preflop I see it going one of two ways:
Everyone is limping every hand so 4/5/6 to every flop trying to catch enough of a piece to call off (so much passivity) with draws/medium hands+
Pots are 3/4/5 bet until 3+ players are all in with so-so holdings but usually with good enough equity due to the nature of the game to make a a strong hand a dog against the field.

Is it possible to play seriously in these games and is there an effective strategy?

If we're talking about freerolls in general, it's definitely bingo. If we talk about our CardsChat freerolls, these are tournaments where you win mainly due to skills and experience.

 

[eetenor]

Freerolls are usually a wild affair, with very little/nothing to lose people play very loosely/aggressively/wildly, even more so in PLO games - to the point where I ask do the PLO freeroll tournaments "work" or is it just bingo?

Preflop I see it going one of two ways:
Everyone is limping every hand so 4/5/6 to every flop trying to catch enough of a piece to call off (so much passivity) with draws/medium hands+
Pots are 3/4/5 bet until 3+ players are all in with so-so holdings but usually with good enough equity due to the nature of the game to make a a strong hand a dog against the field.

Is it possible to play seriously in these games and is there an effective strategy?

PLO effective strategy is to limp nut makers when players are passive and see lots of flops and fold if we do not have nut draws.
In aggro games we have to play only top of range hands with strong redraw possibilities. AAKQ double suited AKKQ double suited etc. By waiting for these hand types often the player pool will calm down and we can play a standard strategy. If not we will have to choose a point where we get all-in with strong double suited hands.
In high agg high variance games we have to expect huge swings of getting knocked out of many freerolls in a row

 

[63burner]

PLO freeroll is bingo, even more than hold em. Play with strategy, etc, but be prepared to lose. Even an early big win, scooping the pot, for example, is great, but be prepared to do it even more times than a hold em tournament. And PLO, you see more full houses, quads than you ever see in hold em. If it's possible to pair the board, be prepared, that paired board means full house, or quads.
PLO means PLAY Looser than normal.

 

[kaynbergo]

I think people don't even look at cards in these freerolls. I played PLO freerolls a couple of times. It was clearly some kind of circus. It rarely reached the flop, usually every hand was a 4-player bank, all with the trash.

 

[sibkaz]

Freerolls are often fast-flowing...

 

[pentazepam]

Listen to PLO specialist Sam Farha:



Seriously though - the equities run closer pre-flop in PLO so don't sit and wait for excellent hands in a freeroll (or any fast MTT).

 

[TeUnit]

I think the best way to play these usually is to focus on playing in position with "nutty" hands. The more players in the hand the more important position is and the more important it is to have hands that can hit the nuts.

 

[ramdon p358]

I think PLO freerolls are not taken very seriously in the early stages because I have seen some hands that should not be played aggressively; but once you advance in the tournament you start playing strategically

 

[Bhargav]

the reason everyone limps is in PLO everyone has got some hand. unlike holdem, where you either have good hand or crap.

 

[monkeytilter]

the reason everyone limps is in PLO everyone has got some hand. unlike holdem, where you either have good hand or crap.

So what should our strategy be?

 

[Bhargav]

@eetenor told clearly how to play PLO.

PLO effective strategy is to limp nut makers when players are passive and see lots of flops and fold if we do not have nut draws.
In aggro games we have to play only top of range hands with strong redraw possibilities. AAKQ double suited AKKQ double suited etc. By waiting for these hand types often the player pool will calm down and we can play a standard strategy. If not we will have to choose a point where we get all-in with strong double suited hands.
In high agg high variance games we have to expect huge swings of getting knocked out of many freerolls in a row