What Are Freerolls?
Very simply, online poker freerolls are a special type of tournament which do not require an entry fee. In other words, you simply visit one of your favorite poker rooms, register and then start playing (be sure to return at the proper time for the event).
Please understand that just because a freeroll is free to enter at online poker rooms, this does not mean there is no real money to be had. In fact, most of these websites will have prize money offered. This is essentially a donation from the poker sites, being used as a promotional offering. The hope is that such an event will create a buzz and generate a lot of excitement and have new potential online poker players coming to the site; eventually a percentage of these new players will end up staying and actually depositing money with their poker room, generating income in the form of more raked hands.
There are several different types of freerolls offered at online poker sites. The first of these will be a new player freeroll tournament. This is an event that is only offered for players who have recently signed up with their online poker rooms. In case you are wondering, even the best, top-rated online poker sites do offer these events from time to time. In fact, some offer them on a regular basis. You will have to read the terms and conditions at your specific poker room, since these websites do often have different requirements.
Poker site freerolls are available to regular players at the site. In this case, you might find the requirement to be a certain amount of player 'points,' which are usually obtained by simply playing raked hands at the online poker rooms. Each freeroll tournament will require a different number of points as the entry fee. This is how various poker rooms help to limit the number of players in such tournaments, which would otherwise be very high After all, who doesn't like something for free?
Poker online freeroll tournaments can be held on a set schedule. Many of the best websites offer weekly or even daily free tournaments. Some are open to everyone who comes by (generally, you would need to register an account), and others are only open to certain players; the rules and guidelines as to who can play will vary considerably.
Sometimes, freeroll tournaments can lead to even larger tournaments. Perhaps one such event, held at one of your best known American online poker sites, might give the winner a free entry into another tournament that is a real cash event (the poker room will pay the entry fee for the winner). However, this also blurs into the definition of a satellite event.
Why Should you Play Freerolls (Even With A Bankroll)?
The first, and most obvious reason to play in freeroll tournaments sponsored by online poker rooms is that they won't cost you anything, except a bit of your time. It is like playing online poker for free, yet against real competition instead of fake, programmed software or poker bot. Although the prize money is usually very low (imagine a $15 or $20 first prize for an event held in some poker rooms that might attract 1,000 people), it can still be a way to build a bankroll, albeit very slowly.
Even online poker players that have a decent bankroll should consider using online poker site freerolls. Why? You can use these sessions as a way of trying out new playing strategies. Try out new ideas or tactics you have been thinking about testing without any risk of it hurting your existing online poker bankroll. Granted, playing in a tournament is much different than a real cash game at many online poker sites, and playing in freerolls is different to a regular, real money buy-in tournament. But, you can still get more of an idea about new strategies due to real human competition.
Freerolls may be the one exception to the rule of always looking for fish, or much weaker competition that is easily beaten. At many online poker sites, you will find highly skilled and even professional online poker players coming to try out these tournaments. So it can also be a way to brush up on your skills. Additionally, you should see these events as a great way to check out and learn about the new software being used by various online poker rooms, or to try out some of the newest features.
Importance Of Finding Freeroll Poker Sites
One of the benefits of finding online poker sites that offer freerolls is their traffic. Everyone likes something for free, so these events tend to get a LOT of attention. The more freerolls held by online poker rooms, the more traffic these websites will tend to gain. That is good on a number of levels. It means that you will find a lot more fish who stay and end up playing their real cash games, where you can make good money off them.
The poker rooms will also benefit by a rush of new players. This gives them more action and more raked hands, which means more profit. Always remember that more traffic equals more money for the online poker websites. It doesn't matter if we are talking about the best or top sites, or one that opened yesterday. They then take their extra revenue and profit and invest a piece of it back into new promotions and other efforts aimed at gaining even more online poker players. Perhaps even better freerolls with higher prizes and bigger real money prize pools will be created.
How To Play A Freeroll
One of the most interesting things to realize and understand about online poker site freerolls is that most players end up playing such an event exactly like they paid nothing for it. Too many online poker tournament players think actually going deep into the event or even winning requires so much luck that they throw all caution to the wind. You will see players tossing all their chips into the pot literally on just a lark.
This presents some interesting ways to actually play and be more successful in online poker rooms' freerolls. You need to remember that because of these quirks, your bets are probably not going to be respected and it will be much more difficult to guess the cards your opponents are holding. It is also probably best to avoid complicated or 'cute' moves, since the other players won't even realize what you have done!
Your basic strategic for online poker rooms freeroll tournaments, at least in the early rounds, should be to play pretty close to what you would be doing in real cash online poker games. Although there are a few differences. Use these general stratagems as a good starting point:
- 1. Only play if you have good starting hands
- 2. When you do have a good hand, be ready to go on the attack
- 3. Act aggressively when you have the cards; make big bets and raises (higher than normal games)
- 4. Don't even think about bluffing until you really have a feel for your opponents (not before the final table)
Actual strategy will vary based on the stage of the freeroll tournament as well. In the early stages, when everyone has more or less an even number of chips, you are simply not going to be able to drive anyone out by making normal online poker bets and/or raises. If you have a strong starting hand, think seriously about going all-in before the flop. At the very least, this will make other online poker room players think and have to pay to see your cards.
The later stages of these freerolls involve one key decision—either to raise or fold. Decide this before the flop. As soon as one of the remaining players raises, you need to either go all-in or fold. Always put the big decision on someone else by playing aggressive and attacking online poker. At the final table, pay a lot more attention to the position of the other players at the online poker sites. Respect those who are raising in early position. Above all, keep playing aggressively, but with thought behind every move.
Now that you have a more in-depth understanding of freerolls why not search out the best ones for you by looking through our suggested XXX for US players of 2023.
