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This strategy is one I use to great effect (profit!) in both cash and free poker freerolls with up to 1000 players involved. I will keep it short and sweet, I think you’ll agree if you’ve been around poker any length of time that there are way too many long free online poker strategies out there that keep getting recycled.

The first hour

In freerolls you will find the whole spectrum of the poker world, the good, the bad, the annoying donks who go all in all the time.

The all in all the time donks are the ones to beware of in the early stages. Don’t take risks at the start of even a free texas hold em freeroll as this type of player, who doesn’t know the game (or care) goes all in with any hand, A 4 (not even suited) and it would be seriously annoying to get beaten by that is you have A Ks!

Just call when it is low if you have AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK (suited) KQ (suited) Note: Never go all in with these cards in the pre-flop (bad beats are very frustrating)

And extremely important; DO NOT BLUFF at this stage.

Following the first hour

Now is the time that most of the bad players are gone, except for the lucky ones!

Here you are able to play more aggressive and attempt to steal the blinds (extremely important because the blinds increase and ante must be paid so what you can get by playing cards is too less to keep playing)

You can also introduce some new cards to you playable hands like:

• 10 10
• KJ
• AA (all in when in late position and not a lot of people in the pot)
• KK (just like AA)
• KQ
• QQ
• AK
• QJ
• AQ

When you’re in the pot with a few players and they just check or make low bets/calls you can try to bluff.

Be sure that your stack is not less then the average stack, if it does go back to the “first hour strategy” and tighten up! (it is not a shame to pull back and change strategy a couple of times to create some confusion!)

Congratulations If everything went well you are now in the money, but you can’t tell me you want to quit now and earn some crappy cents, that’s just waste of your time since the most freerolls will extend to 4-5 hours. So concentrate!

This is the part where the “n00bs” are gone so you play with some poker freaks so be serious-minded!

You’ll be able to recognize the good players not at the quantity of chips they have but at their check, bet, call, raise and fold actions!

They will try to get to see the flop with as less chips as possible and fold most of the time (most common way to spot the good ones).

If you want to be in the top 3 (other places won’t pay that well) you have to be careful, but take some risks to! The hands you can play are the same as in the second part of the freeroll from the 77,88 and up.

When in late position try and steal the blinds, but not too often or you will be recognized as a bluffer!

Good luck with your freerolls! To end off, if you are new to poker it is, without doubt best to start on free online poker freerolls. As you get better you can move up in levels of risk and reward on some of the mainstream online poker sites.

In this free online texas holdem poker article I’d like to show you why you must play your hands in relation to the number of players on your table. If you don’t, well, you won’t win so much, sorry!

Player numbers and hand strategy does, I’m sorry to say have a math component. But don’t worry, as long as you can do basics you’ll be fine.

If you are a free online poker tournament player and you can get this subject down well then you’ll give yourself a serious edge. Most of the “farm animals” you play with won’t have a clue about this, so learn and clean up!

I have 4 different size tables that I place into categories.

1. Heads up

2. 3 and 4 people

3. 5-7 people

4. 8-10 people

Basically what we want to avoid os a coin flip situation, e.g., all in at the preflop. An integral part of being consistently successful Texas hold em player is risk reduction in every part of your game. Here now is how I advise you apply risk reduction to hands play according to table size.

1 – Heads up

Basically any 2 cards are live in heads up games and I generally like to see a flop. However if I have 2 cards that i don’t like coupled with a raise I’ll fold . I really like it when they make a big raise because it’s easy for me to fold.

If I have decent cards, unless it’s a really big raise I’ll call to see the flop after that it will depend on the feel of the player and what they do. If I suspect it’s a tight player and I’m on the button I’ll raise simply to see where I’m at. Normally if they don’t have anything they fold but if they’re drawing or have a pair they might call so I would be careful from now on.

2 – 3 and 4 players

With so few people at the table any cards with “letters” on them get played to see a flop. Most times when you are at a table like this the players are mostly tight players. So if you are on the button call most of the time and aim to steal pots by betting on into the pot.

3 – 5-7 players

Now this is really where it gets tricky. Only pocket pairs and very high cards should be played. Small pocket pairs should be limped into the pot hoping to hit a set.

With medium pocket pairs aim to limp into the pot. If you can call a small raise you can hope to hit a set.

Now with high pockets you should be raising same deal with any 2 cards that have letters on them (J-A).

4 – 8-10 players

Here you have to play real tight. I only try to play the top 10 hands which are pockets thru 10s and then the letter cards. Anything less than a 9 in my hand is almost non playable. I will limp into a pot with any pockets however.

This is why knowing the position and math is so key, you need to know the number of people on the pot and people left to act after you.

The reason why you play a shorter table different is the amount of cards left in the deck.

In Heads up money or free Texas Holdem poker games there are 48 cards left in deck so anything can come out on the flop.

In 3 and 4 player scenarios there are at most 44 cards left in deck thus a better % of your cards hitting.

With 5-7 players there are at the least 38 cards left in deck and therefore more chance that someone else has some of the cards you need or folded them.

At 8-10 now you are down to 22 cards left in deck and it is most likely that some or most the people folded cards you need or have the cards thus the reason for mostly playing pockets.

This all being said when the river is dealt if there is a four card straight or flush on board you don’t need to be in the hand if someone bets.

If it’s folded to you then you can sometimes bet to try and steal pot. If they check raise you just fold and live to play another hand.

I know this sounds more complex that it really is. When you think about it, it is logic that the more players there are means the more cards there are in play and so you need to be tighter and play progressively better cards only as player numbers rise.

Now as to how and where you apply this knowledge, that depends on your situation. If you are a poker beginner or short on funds start off on free poker sites. As you improve and grow your bankroll you can move up in stakes and winnings. If you are new, the best way is to start with free online texas holdem poker sites and only move up once you are well practised and confident.

All in or fold? The concept of bluffing can be very easy or very difficult one to master. There are many ways to grasp this concept of bluffing, but that does not mean you will always be successful, even the best pros in big stakes games can fail as readily as free poker rookies.

Bluffing can reward you or demolish you.
When playing with real money, I would be extra careful when it comes to bluffing. I will discuss my ideas and concepts of bluffing in no limit money and free online poker.

The first concept of bluffing will most likely work 80 to 90 percent of the time if done correctly is if you have that “gut feeling” after someone checks after the flop, turn or river then they do not have anything and you should bet any amount.

The best way to demonstrate this is when you are playing someone heads up. If there are only two of you and you have top pair or top kicker, you are most likely to win. The reason is because the other person only has two cards out of the deck just like you so the chances are slim. When you bluff against a heads up player, make sure you know something about that player, so you know when to bluff at just the right time.

Next, you have to understand what is at stake when you produce a bluff. If you push all in and you know you do not have the best hand, you must consider the worst. You may get lucky, or you may not. Bluffing is similar to betting on red or black in roulette, it’s a fifty-fifty chance. If you are bluffing in fun free texas hold em you may think it does not matter because it is not real, true maybe but you’ll never become a very good poker player with that approach and you will never move beyond the free texas holdem level.

Bluffing is only one part of poker and can never be truly mastered, even top pros will admit to frequent doubts over whether to bluff or not or if the other player is just slow playing or really doesn’t have anything.

Third, another concept of bluffing is the persistent value bet method. During this method, you are betting on nothing from the flop all the way to the river hoping they will fold if they have chased their hand. If you bet the same amount on the flop and turn but bet a little higher on the river with your bluffing hand, the other person is most likely to fold their hand to you. But again, this does not always have the same outcome every time.

Finally, my favorite part of bluffing is when you try to produce a bet that seems like a bluff, but is not. The best bluff bet is the famous all in or the bet pot. Also, if you are playing with the same group of cash or free texas holdem players on a regular basis, you can change up your style by betting an amount they would not expect. The best way to get as much as you can get from someone out of a hand is to simply call all the way and go all in on the river, hopefully they will think you missed what you were chasing and they will call.

In closing, I hope you now understand a bit more about bluffing as a whole. It is one thing to be a poker professional but being a bluffing poker professional is an entire different world. Bluffing is either something you are good at or not. If bluffing works for you most of the time, you may be just lucky or you may truly have the gift of bluffing mastered. But just remember, the most important concept to understand about bluffing is that it will NOT always be successful.

If you are new to online poker go and play for fun and experience bluffing, test ideas, bluff, fail, get bluffed by others. Find one of the better free texas holdem poker sites and have fun AND learn before starting to risk real money.