Freeroll Winnings

Here's some hard-earned wisdom that I wish someone had passed along to me when I first started playing online poker. Hope it helps someone else who's new to playing on the computer.

When you enter a freeroll on a poker site where you have not yet deposited any money, the winnings you accumulate are not yours. Those freeroll winnings are still the poker room's money and will remain so until you make your first real money deposit. You can go ahead and use it to play real money ring games and buy-in tournaments without making a deposit, but you cannot cash it out. Even after you make a deposit, the pre-deposit freeroll winnings, and anything you won from them, are kept separate from your deposited funds. They have to be redeemed into actual cash by playing a certain number of raked hands at a minimum level, usually $1/$2 tables.

Now, that said, here's the big picture that doesn't get talked about much. If you make the minimum deposit required at the poker site before you play the freeroll, it's all cash money. It's your money, and it's immediately available for whatever you choose to do with it. Let it sit, play real money ring games, play buy-in tournaments, cash it out...whatever. It's yours. But if you make your first deposit after the freeroll you just won, the treadmill of having to "earn back" your freeroll prize kicks in.

Example: I placed second in a Cardschat freeroll tournament at Poker Host and "won" $78. I had not made a real money deposit. It is now necessary for me to make a deposit, and begin to play at the $1/$2 tables where I will be credited $1 of my freeroll prize for every 5 raked hands in which I am an active participant after the flop. That's 390 raked hands. Not counting the ones I see from the big blind or fold before the turn (which don't apply). I'll probably have to sit in for 3 times that number of hands to get involved in that many rakes. Just so I can convert the $78 I've already won into real, withdrawable money. If I had only been savvy enough to make the meager $25 minimum depost before our freeroll, the $78 would already be mine, free and clear.

The moral of the story? If you really want to play freerolls and enjoy the fruits of your labor, you must make the minimum deposit on the poker site before you sit down. Otherwise, you're just playing for the sheer fun of it and the prizes don't mean squat to you. And remember, you don't have to play real money games just because you made a deposit. You can let the minimum sit there if you like, and play freerolls exclusively. (If there are any sites that post a "minimum activity" requirement, I'm not aware of them.) If you decide you don't like the site, you can always withdraw your original deposit and go elsewhere. But any freeroll winnings in the meantime will truly be yours, without all the hassle.

And, as always, READ THE RULES & REQUIREMENTS on each site before making a deposit. That's just a given!

Please take a moment to read this email I received from a support person at Pacific Poker. I have also started a new thread in this same forum with this information. Good to know that not all poker sites are bloodsuckers.

Dear James,

Thank you for contacting Pacific Poker.

James, I can confirm that your understanding of our Bonus policy is
correct.

Both the complimentary $10 and the 25% 1st. Deposit Bonus must be
Wagered 20 times before they can be Cashed Out.

In the case of the $10, for example, this means you must Wager $200
before Cashing Out the $10, as you correctly surmise.

There are no extra conditions on this re. Raked Hands played etc. and
Tournament Buy-Ins count as Wagered money.

Further, any winnings made on these Bonuses are immediately available
for Cashing Out i.e. before the minimum Wagering requirement has been
met on the Bonus.

Therefore, Freeroll winnings count as your own money from the word go
and can be Cashed Out straight away.

I am sorry if this sounds too simple for you, but if you wish I will
speak to our management to see if we can introduce a "catch" or two!

Seriously though James, it is that simple and I can tell you from
experience that I have seen many cases of Members who have either
sizeable Bankrolls or who have Cashed out large sums from very small
beginnings (including, occasionally, nothing more than the first $10
Bonus, with no actual deposit ever being made).

If you require further assistance in this or any other matter, please
feel free to contact us - we are here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week.

Kind regards,
Brian Mc.
Member Support Representative
Pacific Poker
support@pacificpoker.com

Last night I came in third place on NoblePoker and immediately cashed out with no problems.


but i did set up an account with them prior to playing and made a minimum deposit. I use netteller which is the best way to send and receive your money.

so far have not had any problems cashing out on any site.

The key note here is that you "made a minimum deposit". You really shouldn't have problems cashing out from a deposited account. If you do, beware.

The trick is getting cash out of an undeposited account. Which is why the Pacific Poker set-up described above is unusually nice.

I've been able to use and bet my Poker Host winnings, does this apply to if you want to withdraw it?

Adam

Nope. You can bet them all you like. You can grow your bankroll to a million bucks. But if you do NOT make a real money deposit on Poker Host, you will never cash that money out. In fact, if you make a real money deposit AFTER you've accumulated winnings from your $10 sign-up bonus, or from freeroll prizes, all of those winnings have to be earned back by playing their $1/$2 or higher tables, and accumulating 5 raked hands for each $1 of pre-deposit winnings. It's a tough deal.

Rammer,

What a great post. I just wanted to add something to this. I myself have not played at Poker Host for this very reason.

"Quote" Example: I placed second in a Cardschat freeroll tournament at Poker Host and "won" $78. I had not made a real money deposit. It is now necessary for me to make a deposit, and begin to play at the $1/$2 tables where I will be credited $1 of my freeroll prize for every 5 raked hands in which I am an active participant after the flop. That's 390 raked hands. Not counting the ones I see from the big blind or fold before the turn (which don't apply). I'll probably have to sit in for 3 times that number of hands to get involved in that many rakes. Just so I can convert the $78 I've already won into real, withdrawable money. If I had only been savvy enough to make the meager $25 minimum depost before our freeroll, the $78 would already be mine, free and clear.

Another forum that I joined before Cardschat used to do alot of their freerolls on Poker Host. They don't now, this is one of the BIGGEST reason why. Why shouldn't a BB be considered for a raked hand you contributed to the pot. (btw that was a rhetorical question) It makes no sense to me. I know Paradise you only have to play 100 raked hands. Not sure what the limits are because after I deposited over there over a year a go I had just started online poker and went through the $25.00 deposit quickly on buy in tournaments and never cashed.

Thanks for posting again makes me understand asap when I can deposit I better because I have cash on the fours sites that I do play at regularly. Especially Ultimatebet I have the most there with my TEC and the cash I won placing second in the Cardschat freeroll a few months back.

What a wonderfully informative post! I'm going to go and check out a couple of the sites that I play on and see what they say, and then I'll report back.

So, does anyone know of sites where your freeroll winnings are yours free and clear?

Here's the skinny from Absolute Poker: You have to make a minimum deposit of $50 and wait for 30 days after that deposit to be able to cash out freeroll winnings. No mention of playing a set # of raked hands or anything of that nature. (Ya know, I kinda love Absolute Poker more and more each day...lol)

Here's what Jetset Poker says:

Thank you for contacting JetSetPoker.

Any real money you win from placing well in an event such as a Freeroll
Tournament with money added is yours to keep. No deposits or certain
amount of raked hands must take place for you to buyin to different
events or cashout.

Good deal, Jetset!

And Full Tilt Poker says:

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail. You may access your freeroll winnings right away.

Regards,

Anne
Team Full Tilt

Gotta love Full Tilt!

Just to clarify, Full Tilt requires no deposit to cash out freeroll winnings? If so, that brings us to at least three sites which have directly confirmed that no deposit is required to cash out freeroll winnings or any money won from using them in subsequent ring games & tourneys.

* Pacific Poker
* Absolute Poker
* Full Tilt Poker

Excellent! Now, THIS is good stuff! Thanks, Holly. And if anyone else can document "no-strings" bonuses and/or freerolls, let us know here so we can get it on the board!

Here's one we can scratch (sort of): Paradise Poker. According to the support person I chatted with, Paradise does not even offer freerolls with cash prizes. All of their freerolls are satellites for seats in larger tournaments. (I would paste the email, but I have a new service and I haven't quite gotten the hang of saving messages yet, so it went poof.)

Hi all,


Ok, here is my question on this. I have won about 60 bux or so on absolute in free-rolls. I was thinking I would do a higher buy-in tourney with the free-roll winnings. Maybe 100 bux or so when I get there. Lets say I place in the money top 5 or somewhere, would that money be available to withdraw as soon as it is credited to my account, or would it fall into the cyber world until I blew it all on a $1/$2 table???

TDP05

At Absolute, to access your freeroll winnings, you must make a minimum deposit and wait 30 days after that deposit, then all the money in your account is yours free and clear.

As to Full Tilt, yes they indicated that any freeroll money won was yours free and clear. Now they only run 2 freerolls a day, one at 12:30 a.m. CST and one at 12:30 p.m. CST. The maximum number of entrants is 900. Registration begins one hour before the start of the tournament, and fills up almost immediately. The top 4 players split a prize pool of only $20 ($8 going to 1st and $2 going to 4th.)

Also, go ahead and add Jetset to the list of really free freerolls. If you win enough Go! Points in their freerolls to use to enter a cash tourney, and you place in the money, then that money is yours free and clear according to their email support.

HollyGo

I wonder if CD poker works the same as Noble poker there. I have some freeroll winnings there and would like to move at least a portion of it to my neteller account so I can free up some money the has been in my neteller account that I can't do anything with.

I sure hope so.

Anyone had any experience with CD poker and cashing out freeroll money?????

Brought this back from the dead and edited it as it contains some important information that was lost in time.

Please read all the terms and conditions of a site carefully to avoid surprises.

Sure hope Rammer returns to the fold one day...

Just reading your post Dave and was wondering if we could have a section where posts such as this can be kept?As we no longer need the freeroll password section maybe we could use that as a golden thread section where these things could be saved instead of disappearing into the abyss.
just a thought.

HoldemChamp

i had withdrawn money from cd before
depositing. however that was a long time ago.
they may now require a deposit.

donvic

bigjace I think that is a very good suggestion! You know what the situation is before you start. They don't always tell you these things. Theirs some very good points noted here. I'll tell you how stupid I was got in several freerolls and ended up with total of $60 bucks and hadn't made a $50-deposit! It's going to take me a long time to make all that up. I can't believe how stupid I was,and then on the other hand I do see! LOL Thanks for all the good advice!

thank you !! Great info...sorry you had to learn it the hard way

NOTE ...correction....As per quote below...ABSOLUTE should be a SCRATH ...
"Here's the skinny from Absolute Poker: You have to make a minimum deposit of $50 and wait for 30 days after that deposit to be able to cash out freeroll winnings. No mention of playing a set # of raked hands or anything of that nature."

hey do any of you know about Fair Poker site I won some money and want it out but don't know the rules? Can anybody help?

Have you tried asking Fair Poker? That would be my first port of call.

Yeah, must agree w/ Rob here. Check on the site. Most places usually have a section for house rules, deposit/withdrawal requirements, FAQ, etc., etc. Of course, you could always fire off an email, or if they have live support, even better!

just last week i won $500 for first in the tommy and rumble at absolute. I had never depositted at this site, and was told i would have to wait 30 days or so to cash out that money. after winning i imediately depositted only $20. i had to wait 48 hours from that deposit to try to cash out. After those 48 hours i was able to cash out my entire $500 with no probs. No 30 day wait, no raked hands, no $50 deposit. maybe i'm just lucky, but i had no issues at all

I've had problems at expekt before won nearly $200 in freerolls when i tried to withdraw they wouldnt let me. so i deposited some money and then tried they said they would only let me withdraw if i sent a copy of my credit card and passport/driving licence. i dont have a scanner and wouldnt like idea of them having all details of my credit card through unsecured email anyway.

Also at nobles i deposited money then they offered me a bonus $20 i accepted it. i won about $100 in freerolls and wanted to withdraw half that amount would which would have left me more than my initial deposit they said i couldnt withdraw until i had raked of my bonus amount.

This was stupid as i had deposited and was withdrawing money which didnt even touch their bonus money in the account, eventually i thought i might as well play raked hands to earn the bonus money.

Fortunately i made a profit on the raked hands i was playing

When i joined Titan and they offered me bonus dollars i refused to accept it and they said i could withdraw any freeroll money as well as my deposit without playing raked hands

So do we have an updated list of sites that will let you cash out no problem without a deposit or raked hands?

* Pacific Poker
* JetSet Poker
* Full Tilt Poker

Did I miss any that were discussed, or anyone have an update on any more sites?

I have cashed freeroll winnings at around 15 sites so far. Most require a minimum deposit if you are using netteller and most have a minimum amount you can withdraw. The only one that has had a BS raked hand policy is Poker Host.
I have cashed with no raked hands from the following sites in no particular order.
Bet365,Trident,Poker333,CD Poker,Noble,Fair, Titan, Betfred,Poker.com,Paradise,Absolute,Caribbean Sun,Interpoker,Littlewoods,Jetset,Sporting Bet and Cherry.

So go ahead and accumulate freeroll earnings at those sites and then deposit after you have enough to cash out.

This is very good info I had my eyes opened. Nothing in Life is easy.

Good luck at the titan poker freeroll!

HE IS RIGHT !!!! I cashed out like him from almost all those site without any pronlem ... just don't ask for any bonuses if you make your first deposit to any of these sites and you can cash out right away !

Poker.com now doesn't require a deposit before withdraw of freeroll winnings.

If you read the FAQ, all you need to do is wait for 7 days. Here's a link
http://www.pokercs.com/faq_tournaments.html

fubar summed it up for the most part... Poker Host is a complete waste of time... you can deposit at some sites that would simply "give" you say 50 dollars with your deposit, with the requirement of playing 5 raked hands for every dollar you would want to release, for a total or 250.. same deal except you dont have to go through the trouble of winning the original 50 bucks....

Now if you dont want to make a deposit to unlock your freeroll winnings, many sites will send you a check through the mail at no cost.. If you dont mind waiting 2 weeks for your money.. Before I had a neteller account I never had a problem with this method....

For those sites that do require the deposit.. I do suggest using neteller...

Cipisor is right about some of these bonuses so I will add something on that.

Previously I cashed some freeroll winnings at Trident without depositing which was great. I got an email from them about a $30 new player bonus credited to your account immediately if you deposited $25 and played 350 raked hands.

I decided to give it a shot and deposited the $25 and did get the $30 immediately.The raking wasn't working out for me so I decided to withdraw my $25 plus some freeroll earnings and leave the $30 in which I wasn't entitled to. No can do as soon as you accept the new player bonus you cannot withdraw ANYTHING until it is cleared not even your own deposit.

I emailed them and they did remove the $30 new depositors bonus from my account and state that I can withdraw now. I submitted my request but havent seen the money yet but it has only been 1 day.

The point is to make sure that you fully understand the conditions of any bonus offer before you deposit and if it is not clear,which it wasn't in this case, to contact them and get it clarrified and keep their answer in your files until it is no longer relevant.

Your post is very misleading. Not all sites are like that. I would suggest you list the sites you had problems with rather than starting mass hysteria with new people.