How to build a br from 0$ on ftp

I am trying the same at Ultimate Bet. After 6 hours in a Freeroll I left with $4.

After some .01/.02 tables and SnGs I got it to about $8 at the end of my 1st week.

But then I had a horrible run and by the end of the 2nd week I was down to .75.

So I took my .75 and went to the .50+.05 SnG. And haven't looked back.

My Bankroll is over $21 as of 15 mins ago.

Impressive? Nah. But I was at $0 a few weeks ago.

If your on this site you are addicted.

I've been trying this for the past few days, getting in every freeroll I can on Full Tilt and Poker Stars. So far my bankroll's at $0.10--lovely, eh?

Hey, I like your idea. I started with nothing on Poker Stars. Now have $2.56 it's not much but it is a start. Going to enter 1 tourney when it's up to $10

That's what i'm doing right now started from 0$ but my goal is to reach 100$
before starting to play cash game or mtt here my result so far :

so far i played in 8 freeroll at Full Tilt

08/15/2007
finish in 9th place for 3$

08/16/2007
finish in 3rd place for 9$

08/17/2007
finish in 8th place for 3$

Total :15$ not bad so far

Talk to you later i'm in one right now (33 of 181)

That's what i'm doing right now started from 0$ but my goal is to reach 100$
before starting to play cash game or mtt here my result so far :

so far i played in 8 freeroll at Full Tilt

08/15/2007
finish in 9th place for 3$

08/16/2007
finish in 3rd place for 9$

08/17/2007
finish in 8th place for 3$

Total :15$ not bad so far

Talk to you later i'm in one right now (30 of 174)

This is a really interesting post. At the end of the day, there are 2 ways to approach this once you win some $ in the freerolls and it's all depedent on your attitude to 'risk of ruin'. I like the OP's idea of building a BR up through the freerolls, so it gives you a better shot at using the money later, with a more meaningful BR. The usual common 'safe' approach to BR management is 20+ buy ins for NL cash, 300BB's for Limit cash and 20+ buy ins for SnG's. So finding a site that has really low micro limits is essential here. If, however, you have a more riskier approach then once you have a few $ you can take a shot at 1 or 2 SNG's or a couple of buy ins at cash. I suppose you are basically hoping you get lucky early here and double up your money. Chances are you wil go broke, so you start again. I prefer the safe approach here as I have gone bust a few times when under rolled.

Here is a question nobody addressed. Depending on the site, this may be a problem. Some other post talked about FTP procedures and suggested depositing changes the rules so withdrawal is easier. Back when I could use NETeller, this was no problem since I could move my bankroll from site to site with no charges.

nice idea

bob , this was a good read and i will keep it in mind when im playing , also the chris ferguson challenge is very intersting and havent checked it in a while but he must be at 10000 now

I think he is at 13k. There was a poll at full tilt, and people vote for when they think he should stop this experiment.
The options are 10k, 100k and 1M. I think he has got the hardest part out the way and he should try to get to 100k.

This is Chirs's Ferguson's article for those of you who are too lazy to look it up :P
"
I'm almost a year into an experiment on Full Tilt Poker. I'm attempting to turn $0 into a $10,000 bankroll. With no money to start with, I had no choice but to start out playing Freerolls. Starting out, I'd often manage to win a dollar or two, but I'd quickly get busted and have to start over again. It took some time but, after awhile, I was eventually able to graduate to games that required an actual buy-in.
Even today, people don't believe it's really me when I sit down at Full Tilt's small stakes games. They ask what I'm doing down here, and often tell me stories about how they turned $5 into $500 or $100 into $1,000. Usually, these stories end with the person telling me that they went broke. There's no surprise there. These folks tried to quickly build a bankroll by gambling. They'd play in a game that was beyond their bankroll and, if they happened to win, they'd move up to a higher limit and risk it all one more time. Inevitably, they'd lose a few big hands and go broke.
For me, this experiment isn't about the money. It's about showing how, with proper bankroll management, you can start from nothing and move up to the point where you're playing in some pretty big games. I know it's possible because I did it once before, turning $1 into $20,000.
To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules:
I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.
I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you'll be playing in games you can afford. You'll never play for very long in a game that's over your head because, when you're losing, you'll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards.
Dropping down and playing lower limits is difficult for a lot of players. They view it as a failure and their egos get in the way. Many want to remain at the level they'd been playing and win back their losses. But this can lead to some pretty severe tilt - and that can go through a bankroll in a hurry. I know that dropping down was difficult for me in my run from $1 to $20,000. When I first played in the $25/$50 game, I lost. Sticking to my rules, I dropped down to the $10/$25 game. I had a losing streak there and had to go down to $5/$10. That was tough. After playing $25/$50, a $5/$10 game was boring to me.
But I had the discipline to stick to my rules, and that motivated me to play better at the lower levels. I really didn't want to lose any more because I knew the consequences: I'd have to play even lower and work even harder to get back to where I'd been, which could take as long as a month. If you ever find yourself bored or frustrated playing at the lower limits, you're obviously not playing well. Take a break from the game. Often, stepping away can give you a fresh perspective and heightened motivation to play well when you return.
There are a couple of more tips I'd like to share regarding bankroll management. First, you should never play in a game that is beyond your bankroll simply because the game seems to be soft that day. It's never soft enough to risk money that puts your bankroll in jeopardy. The other point is that you should avoid playing in games that are at the top of your bankroll limits, when a lower game offers more opportunity for profit.
I'm confident that by sticking to these sound bankroll management rules, I'll make it to my $10,000 goal. These rules are sure to help you as well, as you pursue your own poker ambitions. So, if you want to start your own quest - or play against me while I'm continuing with mine - come open a free account at Full Tilt Poker and look for me online. But hurry, because I'm hoping I won't be in the lower limits for too much longer."
Chris Ferguson

I love reading these, you get so much input and strategy. Great Ideas! I for one....the first thing I hda to learn is PATIENCE----without that..bankroll or not....you WILL lose your winnings. The discipline of NOT spending your winnings ie: .78 in a free roll was my latest and what's currently in my bankroll on FT.... well there it's easy cuz I can't do anything with it. I'm going to try...TRY I SAY...to win more...let it build...so I have more respect for the buy in amount and not just say...screw it it's only .25c...lol. Great food for thought...I will take it with me

I liked the article, which I am working on atm, but I haven't had much luck, yet . I think his rules are strict, 2% for MTT and 10% STT (I think that is correct, but I'd have to go back and check to make sure), and if you get more than 10% of your bank roll in front of you, then you have to leave the game. I have yet to cash in any freeroll that I have signed up for. Best I've did in any of them is 215th out of 2700. Not sure if that is good or not, but it's what I did.

I consider myself a newbie even thouogh I've played about a year now, and maybe I play too tight for my own good. The donks that love the all in button annoy me to no end. Now I can see getting a good starting hand 2 times in a row, MAYBE 3 times, but more than that...come on. I consider myself a patient person when it comes to cards. I can wait 20 to 30 hands before I get one i'll even think of playing with, and I have even blinded out of a tourny and never got what I consider a good starting hand.

Oh well, maybe that will change once I figure out how to play the other cards I consider junk .

respectfully,
Ironsong

I liked the article, which I am working on atm, but I haven't had much luck, yet . I think his rules are strict, 2% for MTT and 10% STT (I think that is correct, but I'd have to go back and check to make sure), and if you get more than 10% of your bank roll in front of you, then you have to leave the game. I have yet to cash in any freeroll that I have signed up for. Best I've did in any of them is 215th out of 2700. Not sure if that is good or not, but it's what I did.

I consider myself a newbie even thouogh I've played about a year now, and maybe I play too tight for my own good. The donks that love the all in button annoy me to no end. Now I can see getting a good starting hand 2 times in a row, MAYBE 3 times, but more than that...come on. I consider myself a patient person when it comes to cards. I can wait 20 to 30 hands before I get one i'll even think of playing with, and I have even blinded out of a tourny and never got what I consider a good starting hand.

Oh well, maybe that will change once I figure out how to play the other cards I consider junk .

respectfully,
Ironsong

very nice and thats even safer than i suggested. with your patience once you get to 100 it will be no problem to double it up. gl and keep it up

well here is my advice to you on your play style, your style might work in buy in tourneys and you will place itm a lot by playing like that but if you want to make it deep like to the ft and try to win big then you will need to loosen up a little and try to build your stack early. this also goes to freerolls nl hold em free rolls to be specific, a lot of players just go all in and play like crazy i suggest you loosen up and play more hands so you can actually get top 27 and make some money, its kind of pointless to sit there for 2 hours play tight like crazy get sucked out by some donk with shit hand and be all mad about it. like me for example, i rather lose early on than bubble it, but thats just my style. anyways gl to you and keep getting better.

Ya, when i first started playing i was kind of like that. i would win like 10 in a free roll and instead of either building up to more or actually playing like 1$ game i would just be like fck it and play max i can afford which was kind of stupid and once i get in it, i would be to tight becuase i would be afraid to lose it all so thats what used to mess me up, but now i know how to play under pressure even if my whole br on the line and i got a lot more patience.

[quote=4aces07;600563]It sounds like a good idea. But i don't agree that the $5 and $6 sng's are easier than the $2 and $3. It should make it easier that there are donks there, not harder.[/quote

well thats your personal opinion, i just find it easier to play in 5$ 6$ sit n gos because everyone doesnt go all in almost everyhand there and i can outplay them easier.

Ok, I'll try it. Which thread do we go to for advice on that subject?

HI I played on ftp poker and i started with nothiing i did a league and searched for the best free rolls and how much did i made 100 dollars total now i play cash like 1/2 no -limit and i am still growing , can any body beat this lol in 3 weeks

Actually i find it harder because it's more difficult to tell what they are calling with. So yes, winning $1 and $2 sng's i think has to do more with luck than with anything else. Besides, while some people play this tourney because of their low bankrolls, other's don't really care about the $1 or $2 and will play horribly.

I think maybe he did not play as often as some of us do.

i always catch as many freerolls as posible but always lose so im not sure that;ll work for me,,,lol im getting better though...hopefully i do somthin soon!!lol thanks for the advice

Fult Tilt wouldn't be my first choice to build a bankroll from zero. Try new sites with good promos, such sites which want to attract players. Avoid the major sites because they don't need lucrative freerolls. For example poker.com or now pokercs.com drop their freerolls from $100 to $50 and now to $10, pokerstars only offers qualifier freerolls, fult tilt exceeded the number of players, earlier it was 1.800 now 2.700.

A good way to build a bankroll is playing freerolls from a forum which doesnt allow password junkies and secures the passwords wouldn't be shared.

Hey folks!

Great post Bob. That's how I started at pokerstars. I kept my results. Here's what I did.

Salut Gilbert! Juste pour te montrer comment on se fait de la vrai argent sans deposer dans un compte. J'ai entré dans un freeroll (tournoi gratuit) et comme tu le vois, j'ai gagné 30 cents!

Results for PokerStars Tournament 57006214‎

De : PokerStars Support (support@pokerstars.com)
Envoyé : 4 août 2007 03:12:19
À : ericgunn99@hotmail.com


PokerStars Tournament #57006214, No Limit Hold'em
Freeroll
6756 players
$200.00 added to the prize pool by PokerStars.com
Total Prize Pool: $200.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/03 - 19:30:00 (ET)

Dear 1 Percenter,

You finished the tournament in 120th place.
A $0.30 award has been credited to your Real Money account. I did that, then played my .30 in ring games to make 1.20$ I then entered this :Results for PokerStars Tournament 57416447‎

De : PokerStars Support (support@pokerstars.com)
Envoyé : 5 août 2007 04:42:20
À : ericgunn99@hotmail.com


PokerStars Tournament #57416447, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $1.00/$0.20
9 players
Total Prize Pool: $9.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/05 - 00:02:16 (ET)

Dear 1 Percenter,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $4.50 award has been credited to your Real Money account.


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.I took 3.40$ and did this:Results for PokerStars Tournament 57493339‎

De : PokerStars Support (support@pokerstars.com)
Envoyé : 6 août 2007 01:26:44
À : ericgunn99@hotmail.com


PokerStars Tournament #57493339, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $3.00/$0.40
10 players
Total Prize Pool: $30.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/05 - 20:35:04 (ET)

Dear 1 Percenter,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $15.00 award has been credited to your Real Money account.


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.I took 5.50$ the next day and did this:Results for PokerStars Tournament 57497960‎

De : PokerStars Support (support@pokerstars.com)
Envoyé : 6 août 2007 02:42:28
À : ericgunn99@hotmail.com


PokerStars Tournament #57497960, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $5.00/$0.50
9 players
Total Prize Pool: $45.00
Tournament started - 2007/08/05 - 21:34:32 (ET)

Dear 1 Percenter,

You finished the tournament in 2nd place.
A $13.50 award has been credited to your Real Money account.


Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.Over 25$ in a few days!!!A lot of it was luck I admit. But I'm a pressure player. I love to play knowing I'm on the bubble or close to it. I cant explain it. You have to pick a game you know well and feel comfortable in. I havent played any railbirds games, or full tilt for that matter. The bottom line for me was play for free until my account matched the minimum deposit required (50$ at PS) Now, I can play for free still, but I can cash out also!That was my 2 cents.Good playing Folks, Eric G.

It is possible to build from nothing as I have done it several times but if you start out playing out of your bankroll it is doubtful that you will practice solid broll mgmt later.I built 10 into 955 and then went broke because I hit a bad run and went on tilt. Combine that with bad broll mgmt and its a recipe for going broke.YOu have to practice the solid principles from the lower levels because if you don't you won't apply them at the higher levels.I have played at the $1nl rings ,lots of $10 and some $24 mtt and you would be surprised at how many donks there are at those levels too!They are at every level.I am starting over again, and trying to practice good broll mgmt myself and it's not easy.I think you need to go broke to learn some of the hard lessons!Whatever you play it should be what you are best at whether hdsup, 6sng or 9 sng.I'm not saying don't take a shot once in a while but if you play out of your roll rest assured you will go broke eventually .The Ferguson article is good on roll mgmt and pocketfives.com has some good articles in archives tab.

This was something I wrote a year ago or something but I find it still applicable....also as stated this was done through zero deposits and whats more after 3years I still haven't deposited.........this was of course all aided by a $400 tourny win on VC poker who allowed me to withdraw with no deposit.



I will tell you as briefly as I can how I managed to obtain a bankroll for nothing, then more importantly how to maintain it once you have got one.

To start rightly or wrongly I've never read a book and what’s more to the point I'm not going to now.....Find out how to play poker yourself, not how somebody else learned to play poker......don't follow their guidelines, come up with your own......Books that tell you the Odds/Percentages etc do have their uses I'm sure, but I cannot get my head around being able to read a book to teach you to play this game.....which is a as much down to the individuals personality how they play as much as the cards they are dealt.

Freeroll yourself....doesn't matter where really but you will need multiple sites and you really should multi table these games 2 or 3 at a time and make sure you always have at least one game going at a time.......

Play as many of Forum Freerolls that you can

You are not so much playing these to win, but to watch the hands, you need to see 1000's of hands so you can start to work out how hands play out, this may seem a tad strange but if you really do watch enough hands being played you really do start to get an understanding of how str8s are made, how often when there are 4 suited cards on the board that no-one/someone makes the flush, how often a full house gets made.....I'm not 100% sure with how clear I'm being here but the point of it is see as many hands as you can, without it costing you a penny....take in and compute all the information that this gives you.....and then with a little luck you should have at least a few dollars scattered around from any FR wins/placings you have had......So now Cash games.

Start small.....I mean micro's and not ring games, SNGs 50c tables (On Absolute Poker the quality of play in the 50c SNGs is better than that of the $2 and $6 SNGs IMO) not all micro game's are crap, I say play SNGs as this will be a faster turn around on your money than playing MTTS all the time, also as you would have just been playing nothing but FR's for the last 3months solid, SNGs will make a pleasant change for ya'....

Do not multi table these games

The reason you now need to start watching and learning how "OTHERS" bet and what they bet with, now I will say at the start of the SNG you need to play tight/passive, let the idiot chances bet themselves out before you start playing your game....you need to be sitting there when there are only 4 or 5 players left (9 seater table) in order to be able to play better poker than what was going on at the start of the SNG.....also this will give you a chance as you sit back to watch these players and work out their betting and their style, i.e. the passive ones, calling stations the aggressor etc.

Also I'm now hoping that something you picked up during the FR section was, nobody wins a game on the 1st hand....you need to be there at the end in order to win and/or make money and as I hope you learned patience from playing all the FR's and that you apply this same philosophy to your SNG games....strange maybe but at micro level you will always on a table of 9 get 3 idiots all of which are either out first or one of them will go on and win it, 2 wanna be pro players a couple of average players and maybe one other who is learning the game such as yourself in order to learn from this SNG section you have to be left on the table with average players the one who's learning and maybe a wanna be pro (just so you learn what not to be like on a poker table). So now all the hands and situation you come across in the FRs will appear in a SNG only this time your there to see how people bet/bluff/check with them and IMO regardless what people say about micro play, if you are there at the end of the SNG you will learn a lot from it, and while your learning its still only costing 50c+10c if you lose it's all free money you gained from FRs anyway.....all that said though I don't think you will lose many.....you only have to place 3rd to get your stake back plus some change.

Once you get yourself a BankRoll of around $20 it's time to go back to the MTTs, still micro ones but get yourself in a $1 MTT and if the site is anything like Absolute Poker or PS and you have a few 100 players in the tourney with a very nice return on your money for a final table placing win.........

Quick re-cap so far :-

• Play as many Freerolls as possible and learn them hands you will need to see 1000s of hands played for this so multi table.
• Play Micro SNGs, study the players and the betting be patient and aim to place in the money.
• Return to MTTs still at a micro level and apply all you have learned so far from the hands you have watched and how the players played them hands.

Remember: PATIENCE

Stay at micro's until you feel comfortable to move up a level i.e. even if your B/R is starting to look quite healthy that does not mean you "HAVE" to move up a level.....I know where my levels are, I still twitch at a $10 MTT or SNG so I'm quite happy playing $5 MTTs/SNGs where I don't twitch on my buy-in therefore not affecting my play at the table.

As for ring games IMO you need to really be playing in the 50c/$1-$1/$2 (I don't do limit so this would be regarding NL tables) in order to get decant players and as you don't want to sit at a table with $40 and if that's gone so has the bulk of your B/R, IMO you really need at least $200 in your account before you even consider a ring game, so you can sit at a table comfortable in the fact that you are not playing with the last of your B/R therefore allowing you to just get on with your game...........

It took me a little over 6months to be able to afford (IMO) to sit down at a ring game without worrying about a hit, but I would quite openly confess I'm a better MTT/SNG player than I am a ring player however I'm sure my ring game will come along the more I play them as with every aspect of poker.

Small Tip : Learn all the other forms of poker, stud/omaha/razz and all the H/L versions of these games as the more you see the better your knowledge becomes.

Conclusion

This may not work for you, it was just how I knew I had to learn the game and backed up with all the help and support that you can get from your forum my/your poker has/can come a long way......I still swear that I won't deposit and that's why the above advice worked for me....also the not reading a book thing is also a personal thing to me and I am in no way telling you not to read books I just merely gave the reasons why I wouldn't read a/any books on poker.

Hope that in any way at all this can help you gain a B/R and more importantly help you to keep hold of it.

i like what your plan is but truly i would rather just deposit 50 bucks and just play 1-2 dolla tourney

i've been really interested in doing this. i have no issue with making a deposit but when money is tight this type of idea always comes to mind. i've had trouble finding decent freerolls on ftp though. maybe i'm just being a noob.

Good idea, but it can take 3 months+ to stable a BR at $10. Stick $50 on and save yourself alot of time

join private freerolls like CC freerolls...hint hint