How to modify strategy when playing large play money tournaments on PokerStars?

Question

I have watched some real money tournament play and it seems to be very very different when playing in play money tournaments. You could bet 3 BB preflop and people would call with 27o. You may even get all 9 players limp and see the flop.. You get the point. For example, this person went all in after I raised to 4BB pre flop. (https://i.sstatic.net/ZN79t.jpg) - I realize I was ahead and that in the long run I have a good chance of being ahead but it's just weird playing with a bunch of aggro players. It's also a different dynamic playing in a structure where the blinds go up fast.

Apart from the obvious strategy of playing tight and solid, are there any modifications that someone can point out here? I am open to any and all advice relating to play money tourney play.

Answer 1

You should be careful playing play money tournaments before playing for real money, since play money tournaments do not reflect real play. Strategies that are profitable in play money tournaments are often not in real tournaments. However, I think it could be a very useful experience for some players once they realise this. Let me explain.

For real money you will see that all players play different and to be a great player you should be able to adjust to all of these styles. Playing play money tournaments you will come across extremely bad players who have habbits like you described in your question. These are extreme players, but you should still adjust your strategy accordingly. How? I would advice to open a very tight range and raise to a large amount. After that, simply close to never bluff and only value-bet big. They play a bad strategy and you should try and abuse that as much as possible. Good luck.