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What is a good strategy for freeroll poker tournaments?

I have been playing poker for three months and play the freerolls. I have have come close to placing but have never done so. I would like to know what strategy do you use during a freeroll? How does it change as the tournament progresses? How long did it take you to become good enough to place in the cash for freerolls? When you place what do you do with your winnings? Cash out or use them to buy in a higher paying tournament? When you finally decide to cash out how long does it take for your money to come from the off shore gaming site. I use bodog but I know many other poker sites exist.

Public Comments

1. Jesus, that's like 18 questions in one. Buy and read Dan Harrington's NLHE tourney books. It's all there. Also consider TJ Cloutier's tourney books. As for questions about online casino transactions, etc, you'll do best to direct them to the support e-mail address for whichever casino(s) you're wondering about. You'll probably have a reply within a few minutes and with far more detail and accuracy than you'll find in any response here. If you want some real basic online tourney advice, here you go: Play ultra tight! I mean fold every-f'n'-thing! Do, however, defend your blinds within reason and limp with pocket pairs and suited aces, especially in unraised pots. If you flop a happy meal, sweet, try to trap and double up. Otherwise, fold. If you flop top pair/ top kicker, bet it like you're trying to buy the pot. Basically, you want to play very few hands for the first 2/3 or so of the tourney. Trust me, everyone will notice. Then, when the blinds start getting big, you'll have established a table image which will permit you to repeatedly steal money uncontested. Just put out about 3.5 times the BB with any playable hand when you're in position. If you're called, that's fine; there's only about a 1 in 3 chance of your opponent hitting the flop and you've got position to steal the other two times. About the time others begin to realize you couldn't have possibly had AA seven out of the last 20 hands, and they begin to call, you'll have plenty of chips to work with. Just remember, position is absolutely crucial. Also, toward the later stages of a tourney, you may consider a well-timed b*tch slap for whomever the biggest blind stealer is, especially if they're after your blinds because they think you're passive and won't call. Make sure you have a hand with possibilities, something like an 89 suited, and re-raise them pre-flop. Then stab at the flop. If you're called, check-raise on the turn. Yeah it's ballsy, but trust me, there's about a 70% chance they'll fold. ...And they'll be real hesitant to mess with you after that hand! If you make it to heads-up, vary your play every few hands. Fold pre-flop on occasion (rarely). Re-raise with garbage, but position on occasion. Call down a hand with ace-high (or better yet, K-high, when there was no raise pre-flop) on occasion. Check-down a pair (even when you know, and especially when your opponent knows you know, you have the best hand) on occasion. Check-call, check-raise with top pair on occasion. Whatever, but make sure your opponent notices and both fears and respects your unpredictability.
2. fold, fold, fold..until your the last one standing....
3. I've won tournaments of 500+ and placed in higher ones. The more people in a tournament, the more you want to fold. Don't be in a rush to pick up chips. Eventually the blinds get so high that you can catch up to anyone almost no matter how low your stack is. Once you've established a conservative image at or near the final table, you can start being aggressive. What you do with you winnings is up to you, but I would recommend not spending more than a 1/8 of your earnings on any one event. This way you give yourself a chance to lose a few times before winning again. I've generally received my money within two weeks, but I have heard of people having trouble, i.e., never receiving their money. I guess it depends on how reputable the site is. I assume Bodog is fine, but I haven't played with them.
4. I use the many free bankrolls that are around. That way you don't risk your own money. The only condition is that you play a lot of hands - not really a problem. Take a look at http://free-bankroll.co.uk for a whole load of offers. Its not worth using your own money until you have donw all these first.
5. I've been playing cash games for a little over a year now. I started out like you though and I still play in and have won a few freerolls. My biggest win in a free roll was for a little of $500 at a site called BigJuicyOdds. Anyways what I've found about freerolls is that because they are free there are two factors that you can pretty much count on. The first is that you're going to have a ton of competition and two, with all that competition you're going to be dealing with more than a few maniacs. Those would be the people who just don't care and have the "damn the torpedos" kind of attitude. They'll go all-in on almost any hand and there's no way to read them. Because of that I've found that it's best to play ultra-conservative until most of the idiots have been eliminated. It varies but I would say you can start to loosen up, just a bit, after a third of the field has been wiped out. Once and if you've made it the point where half of the field is gone and if you've got some game, I'd say it's time to start playing for keeps. As far as cashing out, I've rarely done that however friends of mine have told me cashout time can be as little as 72hrs. if you use direct deposit or as long as six weeks if you use check by mail. My favorite sites are as follows and, with my favorite at the top and less favorite as the list progresses. Good Luck! BigJuicyOdds Oddsmaker BetusPoker Pokerstars UltimateBet