Poker Freerolls - Free Poker Tournaments Online
Freeroll tournaments can be crucial to new players, and those looking to break into the game. Here, we will explore them in more detail. We also list top freeroll poker sites available.
What are Poker Freerolls
Freeroll poker tournaments are tournaments that cost nothing to enter, but they give you the chance to win real money. These tournaments often do not offer vast amounts, but they can help new players build a bankroll. More importantly, they can help players learn how to play the game, because play is generally more realistic than play money tables.
Advantages of Free Poker Tournaments
There are a few advantages to poker freerolls:
Chance to earn money - while it may not be a lot and it may take several hours of tournament play to get to the final table, if you play well in freeroll poker tournaments, you will win money. This can give you a chance to break into the real money game without any outlay. Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson a professional player said that he could turn $0 into $10,000, and he managed to do this through a combination of free poker tournaments and solid play.
Experience - not so much in the early stages of a freeroll when you get a load of chancers trying to go bust or make something of the early stages, but when you get down to the paid positions, you find that play becomes a lot more like the latter stages of a real tournament. If you play enough of these tournaments well you will make these stages, and this can give you some good experience.
Disadvantages of Free Poker Tournaments
There are a few negatives to poker freerolls:
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A long time to do anything - the chances of building a respectable bankroll playing freeroll tournaments is minimal. As mentioned, Chris Ferguson managed to build a bankroll of $10,000 when starting on freerolls but two things that you also need to know is that he was one of the best players in the world, and it took him 18 months. Furthermore, to cash it can take 3+ hours to earn £0.20. To make a final table can take 6+ hours and even then the most you can earn in the majority of tournaments is about £5.
Crazy players - even though players are generally tighter than they are on play money tables, initially the players are nothing like you will experience on real money tables. You need to make sure you understand if you are a new player that the vast majority of those that play in free poker tournaments are chancers looking to either be in a strong position or bust out early.
What Freerolls are the Best?
There are several different types of freerolls and it depends on your preference to what you prefer to play:
Regular - these tournaments happen on the major freeroll poker sites, but these are the ones that often draw the most players (10,000 maximum on the biggest sites.) These poker freerolls are ideal for those hoping to gain experience.
Large Prize pools or restricted entry - these tournaments are harder to come by, or you have to meet some conditions like to make a deposit or earn certain number of points to gain entry. With this in mind, these tournaments do not draw as many players and generally have much better prize pools. These freeroll poker tournaments are ideal for those looking to gain experience and potentially earn a decent amount of money at the same time.
If you can, try to qualify for restricted poker freerolls because these are the tournaments that you can actually use to build a bankroll very fast. On the other hand regular freerolls provide opportunity to build you bankroll without having to deposit any money. With this in mind, poker freerolls can be a great way for new players to experience a bit about real money poker without having to pay anything to play in them.