How To Build A Bankroll From Nothing

I want to attempt to build a bankroll from nothing. I heard many players accomplished this goal and as well as Chris Ferguson from his infamous 0-10K self-challenge.

I want to learn on how to accomplish this.

So far I've won 17 cents from freerolls. : )

You're going to need a lot of front end luck to do this like when you sit at a cash table and start winning hands right away, most of these stories you hear leave out parts so don't believe everything you see or hear in this world. Good luck on your quest and expect to be at it for a long time but remember it can be done but not always in "Breaking News" style.

I know that part for sure, but I was just wondering like what freerolls are the best to participate in or promotions going on. Things like that to start me rolling from a $0 bankroll.

Free rolls aren't profitable. The climb up is going to take a very long time, and imo you're better off just depositing.

Private FR's are the best.

Building a bankroll from freerolls is difficult if you are doing it against 5000 or more people. It is much better to do in CC's freerolls...not so many donks playing & much more real poker played! I am very slowly building bankrolls in various places with freerolls. If you can't afford to finance a deposit to a site, then freerolls are definitely the way to go. GL in building your BR!

I actually dislike Chris Ferguson since he did his challenge because he made more people think pf playing short stacked which makes it harder for people playing real poker to make money.

I don't understand, can you explain please?

RING: Why do people NOT like short stackers?

I cannot explain it as well as some but read some of the posts by belgosuisse, zachvac and others who dislike sss.

The best way to build a bankroll from nothing is to deposit at least $25 to start!!!! It could take you a month to win $25 playing freerolls.

Do you have a time frame? Private freerolls like the CC freerolls are the best. I started with $0 (no deposit) and I'm up to about $75 now. It has taken a few months, but it's been fun. I only did it since depositing as a US player is not easy. If you can deposit, that's definitely the way to go!

Anyhow, I haven't been playing the last fee weeks due to the holidays (too many distractions) but my goal is to get to $100 and then start playing atcual buy-in tourneys. Hopefully with good BRM (bankroll management) I can grow my stack.

Good luck to you!
-Dave

I must say that this can be done, I was up to 450$ from nothing before I started to feel to good with my bankroll and started loose it all. my suggestion is to raise up to 6$ on freerolls and then move to play 0.25 +0.05 satllite to 1$ tournoument. if you finish first or second you get ticket and if you finish third you get 0.25 back, so the odds are preety good. after you win the ticket, you un-register. remmeber the most important rule never play cash games or SNG with more then 5% of your bankroll and MTT with no more the 2% of your bankroll.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THIS IS ON-LINE YOU CAN LOOSE A LOT OF HANDS NO METTER HOW GOOD YOU PLAY.

I'm with you brother/sister, I've done pretty well with Bodog but recently losing it all, playing scared for some reason.

Got money in my account but for the time being, only playing freerolls/points.

Maybe buying a new house, car, having a son has something to do with it ;-)

Its not worth it.

All I'm going to say people who say it's not worth it are probably reach people who can afford to deposit 50 - 100 dollars each week if they need to.

The advice people have give you is good advice, I would take it... also look at my introduction topic as that's how I will be attempting it due to not being able to afford to deposit...all I can say is gl and may the cards be with you!

I see a lot of people telling you to deposit money to start. However dont if you want to build from nothing you can do what i did. A year ago i wanted to give it ago so i grinded the UK free rolls came 3rd twice that gave me $14 however its long and tiring. Now the best part about this once you do it. You feel like a king go for it buddy . Also once u have some dollars like $5 or something or even 0.30 cent play the 0.30 cent satellite on full tilt if your on there. Hope this helped a little.

It's great to hear that some of the good ppl here have won some money from nothing playing in the FR's but remember when you finish within the top 100 or so in a 5000 or 10000 player FR you are going to have lots of big horse shoes to get you in the money of those games. This may give players a false reading on their game and then next thing you know is the money is gone on a tilt or bad run.

The way I see it if your plan is to make money then you have to start out with money, it takes money to make money but if it's to make cash with no cash then all the power to ya buddy.

It depends if you're in a hurry or not.
I have very little time to play poker, so I can wait to play.
I have built my bankroll from 0 (never deposited anywhere), and I think I have between 150 to 200$, only won on freerolls.

But it's been more than 1,5 year to get that (although I did not do a single game during something like 6 months)

It depends if you're in a hurry or not.
I have very little time to play poker, so I can wait to play.
I have built my bankroll from 0 (never deposited anywhere), and I think I have between 150 to 200$, only won on freerolls.

But it's been more than 1,5 year to get that (although I did not do a single game during something like 6 months)

sorry for my double post, had problems replying, and can't delete it

Last time I deposited $50 into a poker site was 2007.

My views on freerolls can be found in this thread: http://www.cardschat.com/f11/5-rules...t-make-155326/

I've done this: BRAG: $10k from freeroll winnings. (http://www.cardschat.com/f46/brag-10k-freeroll-winnings-143994/), and this: 1k post: serious brag (http://www.cardschat.com/f46/1k-post-serious-brag-129443/)

and I agree 200% with c9. If you can afford to deposit, you should really do it instead of learning bad habits in freerolls. If you can't afford to deposit, at least try to find a site where the freerolls are small enough and there are super micro SNGs with a decent rake so that you can move to buy-in games as soon as possible.

Maybe setting a goal of 0 to $1,000 might be better?

What belgo has said here is good stuff.

WHen I started playing online poker I had a couple of sites I deposited to and a few others for Zero to Hero (my goals though weren't near as lofty as your's.. not knocking your's.... just that they were different from mine). I wanted to see if I could build those accounts up from nothing, to where I had enough to play games that would hold my interest. On some sites I accomplished this quickly... on others it took awhile to get over $50.

Playing the private games is obv far better than the typical site freerolls (I really don't think the reg. site freerolls are worth spending more than a few mins. on.... getting yourself familiarized with the software and seeing a few hands but other than that the game doesn't even resemble a typical 10cent tourney).

I also liked Belgo's idea about finding a site that has super micro sngs. I used the Doyles 10cent sngs for this and was able to play in hundreds of games with tables filling up quickly all the time (this was long before Doyles joined Cake network). Not sure what sites would be good for this these days.... I believe Fulltilt as some 30cent sngs that might be worth playing.

Know that it'll take a ton of effort - a huge committment of time & energy. Just like anything else that one wishes to excel in... it takes time and alot of hard work.

GL on your journey!!

i have went from 10$ - 650$ twice on UB.... (first time almost went broke and second time cashed all of it out cause UB doesnt work at my college) and now im trying to do it a -3rd time but this time on full tilt... How fast are you looking to buildyour bankrool from 10- 1000? Im very average im not good compaired to a lot of my friend but it took me about 5-6 months....I have friends that could do it in a month if they had SELF CONTROLL and PATIENTS. Here is how it is done
Step 1) 0 - 10$ dont waist your time have a friend transfer you . money or deposit.

STEP 2) 10$ - 35$ penny table... 1c-2c At this step you should experience a steady increase in your bankroll. I had one losing streak at this step from (29 - 23) i prefer PL for a bunch of reasons i would prefer not to get into, but its easier to play against idiots in pot limit. NL is frustraiting to play againt the idiots but it can be done.

STEP 3) $30 - $120 SLOWELY BRANCH INTO TOURNAMENTS 1$ buy in or less. At this step your bankroll should level off.. with 5 - 10 -20$ jumps depending on how ur placing. If your good at sng ( i suck a em) mix in 1$ sit n goes...If your a big tourny player (like me) mix in some 90 seater sit n goes (or in my cause 50,000 seater which was easy as pie top 7500 placed i was in the money after the first hour) ur not looking to win here make sure ur placing...Notice how i say MIX IN...your not done at the penny table yet....The penny table is going to keep your bankroll close to even until you place. If you drop below 30 - go back to step one

step 4) $100 -$1000 (My favorite part) We are done with the penny table and are now looking for a big place. Play big multi table 1$ tournys that pay out 800+ to first place....dont go crazy in 1$ rebuy turnies.. i took 4th out of 1025 with 1 rebuy and ended the rebuy period with 2700 chips. if your good at sit n goes u can mix in 2$ and 5$ ones at this point ( i suck at em ) i feel that if i play a big tourny 17 times ill make the final table atleast once.... 17$ to win 200 isnt bad (so dont get frustrated if you lose 10-15 at a time in ur bankroll during this phase) thats why u worked it up to 120 first silly...if u drop below a hundred go back a step
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Avoid losing attitudes
1) i just won 50$ so if i play a 10$ sit and go ill still be up 40$ win or lose
2) Im gettin screwed... Ill move up to .5/.10 for a couple hands just to win my money back real quick
3) im 0-3 in sit n goes obviously im going to place in the next one i play in so ill move up to a 5$ one real quick
4)im up 400$ lets just put 20 On the cash table (im usually a beast at the cash table n e way) I PERSONALY ALMOST WENT BROKE DOING THIS ONE ( first week i played i made 350 at .25/.50 cent NL ...then lost 75$ all in preflop AA vs AK....same night lost 80$ all in boat vs trips he got better boat on the river) - then tilted
EVERYONE I KONW THAT WENT $10-$400 OR MORE WENT BROKE BECAUSE OF ONE OF THESE ATTITUDES....these attituted do not account for losing streaks...u WILL get sucked out on 8-10 games in a row at some point in ur online carreer) - instead of sayin F*CK ONLINE poker and quiting for 6months like i did the first time i made it to 675.... account for this and be ready for it to happen.
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I cant help you if
1) you push all in AK suited preflop cash games
2) ull call an all in preflop with any pocket pair ( i rarely play QQ all in preflop) - at penny table
3) you go broke every time ur top pair loses to a suck out or every time ur over pair loses to a suck out (TOP PAIR AND OVER PAIR ARENT ALL IN HANDS) -only sometimes should that play be made
4) you play QQ and JJ like they are AA
YOU DONT HAVE TO BE PRO TO TAKE 10$ - 1000$ BUT I CANT HELP YOU IF YOUR A DONK)
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Have a back up plan...losing streaks are going ot happen.. Your GOING TO get sucked out on 10 games in a row when u have 70%-90% chance of winning (that sh!t happens) would you rather it happen at a 1$ tournament or at a cash table / sng with 20$, $40 or even $150 on the line. what happens to your bankroll ifyou lose 20$ ten times in a row? you go broke more than likely.....

I don't think the top number makes a difference - it's the $0 to $100 that's the hardest part. If you can do that the rest is just time.

If OP is determined to go through with this (I've started from zero twice and I agree with those who are saying "just deposit", FWIW) I've got two words for you: private freerolls.

Find ones (like the Cardschat ones) that have decent structure and prize pools and then as soon as you've got enough to buy into a real money game take your shot. Don't do stupid things like playing in freerolls for six months straight because proper BRM says you're not allowed to play a $1 SnG until you've got at least $25 in your account or something.

Chris Feguson doesn't advocate playing short stacked. However lots of players misinterpret his 5% buy in policy. He says not to buy in for more than 5% of your bankroll and lots of players read this as buying short for 5% BR is ok. He actually means a full 100bb buyin should be no more than 5% of your BR and don't buyin short ever(or 20buyins).

-- but as far as building a BR(bankroll) from nothing it can be done. I'm doing a 0-$5,200 challenge right now. Freerolls got a lot bigger too sense Chris did it. They were 900 players back then and like 1500-2700 when I played them. The good thing about a freeroll is you can't lose money. Cardschat freerolls were a big help as well. I also worked up my playchips and when I had over 5m i'd play the $40 freeroll it pays real money and cost 500k playchips to buyin. I made over $20 playing these. Once a made it past $40 I started playing 2nl. But if I were to start over I make $6-$10 from freerolls and start playing the 30cent sattys to the daily dollar.

Starting from 0 is not as hard as you might think. I win around $80 per month in freeroll money, so depositing $20 is only going to speed you up a few weeks. Here are some tips:

• Play at many sites. This is a lot easier if you are not in the USA. I recommend Full Tilt, Pokerstars, Bodog, Carbon, Cake, Ultimate Bet, Party Poker and Titan. More sites means more freerolls, very important for getting your roll started.
• Find out who hosts freerolls on those sites and become a member of the forums. Private freerolls are worth way more.
• Set up Facebook and Twitter accts. More above-the-norm freerolls can be found there.
• Set a goal to attain before you move to real money games. For me it was $150 on any one site (I have at least this amount at 3 different sites now), but a decent player could start out with less (I was a total beginner). After you have reached it and have begun using your winnings, use strict bankroll management.
• Don't waste your time on public freerolls. Apart from the Twitter and Facebook freerolls mentioned above, they are not worth your time. (Possible exception, Bodog's two daily $500 freerolls).
• Learn as you go. Posting hands and asking questions here will do wonders for your game.

Best of luck, keep us posted as to how it goes!

This is very possible but you have to be patient. I had $0 in my account at one point and after a few months...I had $500. Just play the freerolls until you have about $5..then move on to the $1 tournies.

I think the best part is taking 0-10! Getting money from a friend or depositing is the same short cut behavior that will ruin you. Trust me, if you take the time to earn $10 through public freerolls, you're not gonna just blow it at some cash table. And BTW, it's easier to cash in a freeroll then is to cash in a CC private game... You'll dealing with really good players here... You better bring your A game!

Completely agree...as I've lent $10 a few times of friends made the cash to pay them back but then sprawl the $10 I made, so I think it's a good idea personally...Also just because CC private game is hard doesn't mean the others are :P and even if CC is a hard one to cash in, I'd still prefer it over ft's 7.5k freeroll they have has 5k of them are donks and will hit with q,5 suited when you're in last 200 or so and not cash...

I'd keep to privates when possible and try and get in your national private one which is held daily...

Im a good example to you. I only play freerolls when im broke. I never deposit any money and cashed out a lot. When i win one good freeroll i play real low stakes like 1,10 until increase more then i had. After i pass to 3,30 SitnGo KO and when i have like 200$ i play 4,40 SitnGo get the 26$ token to play 24 $ tourneys

I don't have the patience to do this. All it takes is one game and going on tilt to ruin a month's worth of hard labor.

it is very possible to do this. I got up to 500 dollars once from zero but got too comftarble and lost it all. I just started the rebuilding process again. I would say once you get a few dollars just start taking cracks at real money tourneys. Thats what got me goin the first time.

i have made a 200+$ from nothing. here it is how it went, first, started playing my country's freerol, winning 12c 10c 7c and so on, every time i got in the money, sometimes these ware twice a week, almost every time i would cash in. a lot of people are just sitting out, 1 double up and i would be certain to cash in.

when i had a couple of dollars, like 3-4, i started playing 10cent tournaments on pokerstars, after that just went up, now i play 1c/2c tables. i made 100 dollars last month, and this month i am already up 100 dollars, if i work hard, i might even win 200$ for decembre.

I worked my way up to $22.35 from winning 49 cents in a private freeroll in about a week and a half. Thanks for your advice guys! It really helped.