Freeroll tournaments can be found all over the internet with many online poker rooms offering a large number of daily tournaments with a smaller prize pool so that they can offer free tournament poker action to a range of players from all over the globe.

Many poker players feel that freeroll tournaments are vital for their progression within the game because of the number of varying player styles that grace the virtual tables of the online poker rooms.

When you take a close look at the players who take to this form of tournament it becomes apparent that the players fall into one of three categories:

• Players who are new to the game and looking to try their luck
• Players who couldn’t care less about the result of the tournament as they are there to pass time or play very loose
• Players who are capable of winning the tournament with the aim of taking the first place prize money

Each category of players offers each other a high risk when they are entering into hands together, whether that be because the player fails to have the knowledge of the game and the strategy to be able to be successful or whether its a player who is looking to play an ‘all in’ every hand approach to see how far they can get.

With the different styles of players mixing their gameplay within the same game, upsets are always happening within freeroll tournaments and so players who engage in them should be able to take the beats that are likely to knock them out of the tournament without throwing their game and approach to it into a tilting state as this would leave you open to further, more expensive losses.

Although these tournaments can prove to be a stumbling block for many players, they do offer benefits for players to take part:

• Freeroll tournaments offer players the chance to either build or improve an existing bankroll to which they can either use at the tables or cash out of the site
• Playing in freeroll tournaments gives players the experience of playing within a poker tournament situation, something that helps any player in their bid for tournament success in the future
• There is a large fun factor that comes with playing freeroll tournaments as there is no risk involved due to there being no stake placed by the player

The players who play freeroll tournaments

We have already touched on the 3 main types of players that enter into freeroll tournaments and the reasons that they enter the tournament but lets have a look a little deeper what their involvement in the tournaments means for the other players in the tournament:

• Bets and raises are made without the respect that should be given to them and so a well thought out bet designed to scare opponents out of a hand fails to offer that feeling of fear that it is designed to offer and so a call is more likely to happen.
• Reading your opponent becomes much more difficult because players are more likely to play cards that would not be considered playable within any game that involves a player having to wager their own funds.
• Playing higher standard strategic plays fail to pay off because of the number of players who have no desire to be in the tournament for the long run and so they often re-raise your plays.

How can you play to win the tournament?

If you have the desire to play and win a freeroll tournament, you need to focus on how you are going to play and with the huge range of players that take part in the tournament you need to be able to adapt your gameplay to the opponents that are surrounding you at the tables.

Being able to act in a way that is the opposite to how your opponent plays means that you can increase the potential winnings that you can win from that opponent.

So while you are trying to act in a playing style that is unpredictable by your opponents, what rules should you not stray away from:

• Stick to your premium starter hands and don’t get drawn into hands you would not play when wagering your own money at a table
• When you have a strong hand, play strongly and bet big. You will be called more times than opponents opting to fold due to the lack of investment that they have in the game.
• Don’t bluff. Betting large in this form of tournament means nothing and carries no fear factor so if you have nothing, fold the hand.
• Play the game for the victory not the money. The money is often very little for the first place finish but the recognision that you would get for taking the victory would be worth more than the money that you would receive.

With these rules played to strict routine, you will see yourself progress through the tournament placements come the end of the tournament, falling into bad habits would mean that you are placing your tournament life at risk.