A freeroll tournament in poker means a tournament that has no entry fees. However, some freeroll poker tournaments require payment at some point in order to gain entry to the tournament.
In a typical pay-to-play tournament, the prize consists of an accumulation of the entry fees minus a “fee” retained by the house. In a freeroll, the prize pool is a "donation," which is provided by the house. Though in most freerolls, the house defrays a significant portion of the prize pool or turns a profit by charging for food and beverages, admission to spectators, sponsorship fees, broadcast rights fees, or a combination of these. Sometimes, a particular cardroom or a casino offers a freeroll tournament to their regular players. These invitation-only tournaments are mostly freerolls.
On internet poker sites, freerolls should not be confused with their close counterparts, which are play-money tournaments. Freerolls are different from play-money tournaments in two ways. These play money tournaments usually require the ‘payment’ of play money, and the tournament winnings are the play money. Freeroll poker tournaments, on the other hand, can be free and might require payment of points, i.e. a point system developed by the site, or on a few occasions requires a deposit of funds into the player's account. The winnings are either in real money points, merchandise, or entry tickets to other tournaments.
Many Internet poker sites offer freeroll tournaments or, in some cases, require a payment of points to play. These points can then be earned by paying and playing real money which in essence is a payment required to play the freerolls and, therefore the term ‘freeroll’. Many websites allow playing in freerolls without any kind of payment, and even with a chance to win some real money.
Advantages of freeroll tournaments
- It is an amazing way to sharpen your poker skills
- A bankroll can easily be built by playing and even winning at freerolls
- You can gain good poker tournament exposure.
Disadvantages of freeroll tournaments
- You’ll face many amateur players who are participating in improving their game. It can stunt your growth as a professional poker player.
- They can also be time-consuming.
Freeroll tournaments can be a good learning ground for a new player who is interested in gaining experience and wants to get a feel of tournament pressure. Selecting the right freeroll tournament can also be very important. Always try to pick a freeroll that doesn’t have too many entrants. The more entrants, the longer the tourney will be, and the lesser will be your chance of winning. Once you get the hang of free poker games, start playing small tourneys and then enter the bigger tournaments. You can even experience live freeroll poker tournaments on many websites and gain experience.
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