rookie freerolls

[Harv72b]

There are two things you want to look at when you join the tourny (or preferably, before): how quickly do the blinds move up, and what is the payout structure like relative the size of the field.

The faster the blinds move, the less you can afford to wait on true premium starting hands. Most freeroll MTTs follow a "turbo" structure, which does necessitate getting involved early with some borderline hands & pushing many thin (perceived) equity edges preflop. Not quite pushing AT, but being willing to make a stand in level 2 or 3 with JJ, for example.

If the payout table is very thin compared to the size of the field (say, 3000 entrants & only 100 get paid), then you have to amp things up early even more. Getting a double- or triple-up in the first level can make a huge difference towards making the money or not, as well as towards getting deep in the money. With that sort of structure, and especially when combined with turbo blind levels, you have to be willing to gamble a bit in the early going. Again, not necessarily AT...but pushing AK over a raise & reraise in level 1 (or insta-calling a push ahead of you with it) might not be a bad idea.

The tried and true adage to tournament play is very simple: if you think you're the best (or among the best) player in the tournament, you should play pretty conservatively where the blinds & your stack size allow it. If you think you're well below average in overall skill, you should be much more willing to gamble preflop...but one more time, you generally want a starting hand better than AT.