3 Poker Freeroll Strategies That Don’t Work (& 1 That Does)

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Arved Klöhn Pokerlistings Author
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: February 26, 2025

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Have you ever wondered why you never win any of those poker freerolls you play?

For new players they’re called bankroll boosters, exclusive ‘New Player’ events and similar. They look like you could make some easy money but they can end up a source of frustration and bad beat stories.

The reason is you’re doing it wrong!

Read on and ask yourself if you can find your play in any of these categories. If yes, you have something to fix; if not, we’ll take everything back and say you’re just the unluckiest player in the world.

Here are 3 main poker freeroll strategies you’ve seen a hundred times — but still shouldn’t copy.

Poker Freeroll Strategy

1) Going All-In, All the Time

How often have you been busted by that terrible player who just moves all-in every single hand? Too often, right? Why do you think this happened? Because the guy is Russian?

If you believe a poker room makes you lose on purpose to favour a worse player — while at the same time trying to make you come back — there’s something wrong with your analytic thinking.

You might think the guy does that because he’s drunk (and he might well be) or maybe he just doesn’t care. But that guy isn’t going to win the tournament even if he gets lucky to bust you.

And that’s why you shouldn’t adopt that strategy. It’s simple. The math is against that strategy and it will catch up with you at some point. 

The more often this works, the closer you get to the end of that streak. It’s never going to last all the way.

Also, you’re not losing as often as you think. Jot down the hands where you call a random all-in with a better hand. You’ll notice you’re pretty close to what equity expects.

If you let yourself get frustrated and just push in all the time, it won’t take long until you’re picked off by a big pair and that’ll be the end of it. If you don’t believe it, try it a couple of times.

After all, it won’t cost you anything.

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2) Bluffing

When you play in a freeroll, don’t bluff. Don’t even think about it. Why? Because of the nine people at your table right now:

  • 3 don’t know how to play
  • 3 are playing in all the freerolls they can find and
  • 2 don’t care at all what they’re doing

Each and every one of your bluffs will be called by a random hand from someone who doesn’t realize he shouldn’t call. And he’ll still have the better hand.

Don’t expect common sense because you won’t find it. The button you clicked on to play in the freeroll shouldn’t read “register.” It should read “you agree to forget common sense.”

In fact the only reason it doesn’t say that is probably because the phrase is too long for one button.

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3) Playing ABC Poker

Didn’t you read the paragraph above? You’re trying to apply common sense again. Don’t forget that people do. not. care.

Forget all the poker strategy articles you’ve read because the freeroll world works differently. It’s like a place close to a Black Hole where physics doesn’t work as usual.

Do you think a 3x raise with a good hand will win you the pot if no one else has something? Not gonna happen.

The concept of “raise and take” is also absent from this world. Try it, you’ll see.

Checking it down with someone else to bust a small stack? Not happening either. You’ll face an all-in on the river. Brace yourself.

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The Strategy That Works in Freerolls

As we have now established that all traditional strategies don’t work and we’re mostly facing careless and bad players under the influence, we’re going to use that to our advantage.

A few rules of thumb for free online poker tournaments will get you started:

1) Do a Lot of Limping

You won’t find that in a strategy article but do it anyway. Any hand you raise from early position, you’ll probably be faced by an all-in — even in Level 1.

So, you can raise your A-K and J-J+ but you’ll always be up against at least two players. Check a poker odds calculator to see your equity against two random hands; it’s not very good.

Instead, limp with a lot of hands and play the flop. The later your position, the more hands you can limp.

If you flop two pair, push. If you flop a set, push. There’s always someone calling with top pair or even just overcards like A-Q.

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2) Call with Top-Top

Even so, you shouldn’t play good hands too aggressively. You should always call something like A-K on a board like A-T-9-5-3.

You’ll sometimes look at 9-5 or even 4-2, but much more often at A-Q, A-J, K-K, Q-Q, J-J or even just second pair. 

Top pair, top kicker will be the best hand most of the time.

3) Push Your Monsters

If you find pocket jacks or better, don’t slow play. Don’t try to trap; don’t try to be smart.

Just push all-in and wait. Worse hands will call you and, although they will sometimes win (they have to as you never have 100% equity pre-flop), you’ll often build a big stack very early on.

All in all, loose-passive play will get you going. Quite the contrary of what you expected, no?

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Return to ABC Poker

When you make it to the deeper stages of a freeroll you can apply ABC poker again as all the punters will be gone. If you make the final, you’ll have to get just as lucky as at any other final table.

Keep these simple rules at heart and you will spare yourself a lot of frustration – especially if you play real money online poker.

FAQ

What is a poker freeroll?

A poker freeroll is a tournament with no entry fee. Players can enter for free and compete for real prizes or money, often provided by a poker site as a promotion. While it sounds risk-free, these events tend to attract many casual players, making the gameplay wild and unpredictable.

Why isn’t constantly going all-in a winning strategy?

Constantly going all-in relies entirely on luck and disregards equity, position, and situational awareness. Over a series of hands, the math will catch up to you, and you will run into strong hands that dominate you. You might knock out a few players early on, but your chances of surviving deep into the tournament are slim.

Should I ever bluff in a freeroll?

Bluffing in early stages of a freeroll is rarely effective because players are more inclined to call with weak hands. These callers often do not realize they should fold, so bluffs lose their power. As the field narrows, you can incorporate more bluffs, but only when facing opponents capable of folding.

What does “loose-passive play” mean in a freeroll context?

Loose-passive play refers to limping or calling many hands pre-flop without raising, then only shoving when you connect strongly on the flop or hold a monster hand pre-flop. This approach takes advantage of weaker players who overvalue marginal hands.

When should I switch back to ABC poker?

Transition to a standard ABC approach once most loose and careless players have busted out. In the deeper stages, you’ll face opponents who respect position, pot odds, and bet sizing. At that point, traditional strategies like tight-aggressive play and well-timed bluffs have better success rates.

What is ICM, and why is it important in freerolls?

ICM stands for Independent Chip Model. It assigns a monetary value to your stack based on tournament payout structures. Even though freeroll prize pools are typically smaller, ICM considerations help you decide when to push or fold as you near the final table, ensuring you don’t waste your chip advantage or make unnecessarily risky moves.

How do I handle top pair hands late in a freeroll tournament?

Late in the tournament, the player pool is usually stronger, and you should carefully evaluate board texture, position, and stack sizes before committing chips with top pair. While top-top is still a decent hand, the value of pot control and disciplined aggression increases as opponents become more skillful and selective.

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