Free Poker -- How tight?

[Benman]

I've found an online bonus situation where I can play pot limit hold'em and I'm getting more money just to sit there and fold than I'd be paying in blinds. Assume that I'd be happy (though bored) to just sit there and take my small amount of free cash, with no variance to speak of. Question--when, if ever, should I voluntarily put money in the pot? Only when I get a free play in the big blinds and flop a great hand? Only with AA and KK? I'm not sure if there's really any theory here to speak of, or whether this is more of a psychological question. In any event, it's a real situation I've found myself in and I'm wondering the best way to approach it.

[RiverDood]

When you put money in the pot, you're wanting two things. +EV and as little variance as possible. A no-brainer for you is to get KK in the small blind, have everyone else fold to you, and then raise it to a BB who folds. A much more problematic hand would be KK or even AA UTG, which you open/raise with, and attract four callers. You're almost certainly the most likely winner, but your odds of prevailing may be in the 0.4 to 0.6 range. If the betting escalates and you don't win, you may end up burning through all the nickels you've been picking up in bonus-land.

I'd guess that you should be super-tight in early position, maybe playing only AA if you want to be very sure of emerging as a winner in this exercise. Then loosen up in later positions if everyone has folded to you. And hope that the players to your immediate left are either tight or stupid. On the rare times you're in a hand, you'll most likely be playing one of them headsup.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
Assume that I'd be happy (though bored) to just sit there and take my small amount of free cash, with no variance to speak of. Question--when, if ever, should I voluntarily put money in the pot?

[/ QUOTE ]
If you are well-bankrolled, you should play no differently than if you were receiving no bonus at all.

If you are under-bankrolled, you may avoid making some marginal plays. While these might ordinarily decrease your win rate from +1 BB/100 to -1 BB/100, you might be more interested in the decreased variance if the bonus means your win rate would only fall from +11 BB/100 to +9 BB/100. Be careful that you need to have a sound understanding of poker theory in order to identify the marginal decisions accurately. Often, people confuse plays they are comfortable making with those that are right by a lot. If you give up the plays you are not comfortable making, you may be giving up a lot of EV without saving much variance.