Playing freerolls is the first real poker experience for many poker players, soon after trying out the game for play money. In fact, we’re positive that each of our readers has played a freeroll at least once in their life. Playing them may be very tempting but are they really worth your time?
Not all poker freerolls are equal
Let’s start with a definition. We consider a tournament a freeroll if there is no entry fee. Most freerolls are targeted towards newer or very recreational players who just enjoy poker as a game, without risking any money.
The idea is simple: register for free, play it out just like the regular tournament, and if you’re lucky enough you’ll win some money. Sounds easy enough? Yeah, sort of. We’ve gotta admit, freerolls are great if your online poker adventure has just started. Playing them is a great way to get used to the various poker sites and poker tournament game flow, and to win some pennies without risking your own money.
In most poker freerolls, the prize pools are relatively small but from time to time online poker sites organize exclusive freerolls with thousands of dollars as a promotion (usually, despite no entry fee, you’d have to obtain a ticket to such a tournament).
No entry fees, free money, what’s not to like? Let us explain why we’d suggest you don’t get attached to playing them too often if you ever want to be a successful poker player.
So, what if you’d like to treat poker more seriously?
The idea of poker freerolls is great, but mostly if you play poker purely for fun or you’ve just started. If you’d like to treat poker more seriously, you should stop playing free poker tournaments as soon as possible. Here’s why.
You won’t learn much playing free poker tournaments
Poker is a great and complex game with many viable strategies but that only holds true if everybody plays their best to win. People playing freerolls quite often just open-shove with random hands or play totally unpredictably. You may think: it’s great if my opponents are playing poker badly, right?
Yes, but the thing is, it’s great if your opponent is risking some money. If they aren’t, their careless plays aren’t punished too severely. That constitutes our next point.
You’re very unlikely to win any significant prize money in freerolls
It’s easy for inexperienced poker players to become obsessed with the idea of playing online freerolls and winning real money without any risk. While it’s technically possible, the reality is way more brutal. Due to their accessibility, poker freerolls attract a lot of players, and by a lot, we mean hundreds or even thousands.
If, for example, a poker freeroll has a prize pool of $1,000 and 5,000 people sign up for it, you can treat it as a poker tournament with a buy-in of $0.20. Even if your opponents have no idea how to play poker, winning such a tournament, let alone winning the whole thing, is an achievement.
Let’s assume that, on average, you play in such a tournament for 3 hours and win a dollar every time (which is 5 times the “buy-in”). That’s an hourly rate of $0.33.
How much time would we need to convince you that you can do way better than that?
How to boost your poker career if freerolls won’t work?
Once again, freeroll tournaments are a great choice but only for people who’ve just started playing or those who just play poker for fun.
If you want to push your poker career forward, you have to treat it more seriously. There’s an abundance of free materials online that can help you understand the game in depth and play better. Check our YouTube channel here. We’ve also prepared a lot of learning material and poker advice about taking your game to the next level: bankroll management tips, suggestions on what poker games play in 2024, or our take on dealing with poker downswings, just to name a few.
But that’s not everything. Above all, Smart Spin is a professional poker school. If you join us, we’ll provide you with up-to-date poker strategies, training videos, hand reviews, coaches from the highest stakes online, and a helpful community. Speed up your poker career with us and try our offer for 30 days for free!