Are you a Freeroller?

With Poker Black Friday approaching the first year anniversary, that has left us online poker player with very few options to find a good game. There are still some out there but not like it use to be, which brings me to the point of the article.  A free roll is just that a FREE GAME but is there a right way to play a free roll game. That all depends on the kind of poker player you are. There are all kinds of them out there. Just like the old Clint Eastwood movie “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. The first two parts are obvious but the Ugly part doesn’t necessarily mean you are a Ugly looking person. Even though the game doesn’t cost the player any money to get into, the game that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything of value to win. Hog Wild Poker Leauges has been running a series of free games where the players have some great value of return, to win. But in the same return these free games can bring out some of the best and worst players on the planet.

 The “Good Player” can make the game I little bit more enjoyable and fun to play. These players take the game very serious, even though it cost them nothing to play, they know what the game means and what the game has in return for them to win. This can be free cash or a prize of great value. A good player knows the game rules and the strategies of the game.  This type of player knows when it is time to change gears in the game and plays there position with great value. They know that in first position a 7/2, 9/6 or even an Ace Rag is not the right hand to play. They know when there hand is beat and not to place their tournament in jeopardy. They can lay down the best hand knowing that it is beat. They know when it is time to jump into the pot out of position, because of the pot odds lets them know, but in return after the flop they know it’s time to fold and not go any further in the hand or they know the math of odds and know when the math tells them it is worth to chase.

 The ”Bad Player” can be a new player to the game or one that has been playing for some time but never takes the time out to really learn the game. This can be a recreational player with no interest in ever taking their game to the next level of play. They just don’t care of the outcome of the game or how they play. They think Ace Rag is a great starting hand and will play that hand every time. When they hit the ace on the flop they don’t even realize that there kicker is out kicked and continue to play the hand to the end. They play way too many hands thinking they can win them all by luck of the draw. They don’t know the rules of the game or what it means to play pot odds, implied odds or position. They win some hands that really they shouldn’t have won and think they made the right moves and when they lose that hand they can’t figure out why they lost. In the long run they will win some, but will never be a great winning player. You hear this comment a lot for these players “It’s only a free game who cares” They will call the All In’s with any two cards and hope for the best outcome.

The “Ugly Player” can be an experienced player or the new one to the game. They play the game very recklessly and sometimes just don’t care. They do a lot of table talking calling out players and their moves. They will call you names at the table when their hands get suked out on. They really think they know everything there is to know about the game and will let you know this in the table chat. You will hear this a lot from these players “It’s a freeroll”, “who cares about this game it didn’t cost me any thing”, “it’s my game and time I can play the way I want to”, and so on. I’m sure if you have played the game for some time you may have heard them all. These players can take the fun out of the game.

 When it comes down to it, there are all kinds of players in the game of poker, but you have to ask yourself these questions. What kind of player am I? Do I play the game to win or do I just play to have fun? Do I play to make the other players at my table mad at me for the way I play? Do the other players at my table take this game serious or are they just here to have fun? Do I just want to play free poker the rest of my life or do I want to win the big game? When it comes down to it, there are a lot of players that take the game very serious and they do want to win the big game someday. They will do whatever it takes to advance their game to the next level of play. If you are one of those players that is playing the game just to kill time and don’t really care about the outcome of the game, or who you make mad at the table, I would say to you go walk the dog or find some other way of killing your time. It’s these type of poker players that don’t care about the game, that give the game a bad name. Now on the other hand these are really the kind of players we all love to have at our tables in a real cash game. So I would say, Play the game like you have something to play for, even it is for your own pride.