Freerolls - Fun or waste of time?

[BelgoSuisse]

If you're good enough to beat real money games, freerolls are a total waste of time and money.

If you're not good enough to beat real money games, freerolls will not help you get any better, but at least you won't be losing money while playing.

fwiw, I've now made more than $15000 without depositing. $0.47 of those from playing freerolls, the rest from reinvesting my winnings into real money games. And I kind of regret not depositing. It would have saved me a couple of months in learning the game, and considering i now make something like $3k per month at poker, starting from freerolls instead of depositing translates into a major financial loss in delayed earnings.

 

[Translator73]

FR´s and donk scaring

When u r just learning how to play, FR´s are a good way to do it...don´t have to pay to play .
I mostly play FR´s to practice my way of observing other players and how to get a better read on them.
The only pain in the ass r the donks that go all-in with a trash hand in the beginning!!!
My way of scaring them and makeing them not do it: "Welcome and gl to all donks that go all-in with a trash hand!!!" LMAO, believe it or not, but it works. After sending that message nearly no donk goes all-in with the first few hands.

 

[Shafan]

In my opinion,
Freerolls are great practice after the early 30 minutes, because you have to many all-iners on the start with any 2 cards.
I'm playing a lot of freerolls, and got in the money couple times.
I hate playing freerolls that played for more than 3 hours.
The only thing i hate on freerolls are those people that swears a lot when they lose (even if it is a suckout), they should take it for fun and be more friendly (at the higher levels on freerolls the game is more friendly and fun).

 

[billyth3kid]

like you said practice without wasting money... builds up your stamina as a player i think... i use to play them all the time after making a final table and getting 3rd once i started to play 1$ rebuys... not really a surprise that i made final table 3rd time i played in one...if you can place with 5000 people in a freeroll then u can place with 1000 or less in $1 rebuy.... one thing i will admit once you get a nice chunk of change in your bank roll its hard to go back to 5000 seaters ...i did it once for kicks like a month ago to show some buddies i still could qualify for saturdays final if i wanted, only won 11 hands to make top 50 and missed placing by one got 30 something.......and my buds said you know what the difference is between you getting 31st and the guy that got 5000th... HE DIDNT WASTE THE LAST 4 HOURS OF HIS LIFE...havnt played one since but good luck to you

 

[PattyR]

id say there fun, i try to play as many of them as i can but its hard to remember them all the time lol

i would suggest you start out with these bc you have a good chance to start a decent bankroll with these.

like someone already said though it is not good practice at all, first 20 min is a complete donk fest so just sit n wait for your spot

gl man

 

[bustermoves]

they are fun,but hardly profitable.playing 4-5 hours minimum to win 2 bucks is just stupid imo.you could pick up pennies in the parking lot of your local c-store,or beer cans from the side of the road and show a better profit,in the same amount of time.

 

[Monoxide]

There are no useless things on the Earth. Freerolls teach you to be patient. It is very important. But actually it is waste of time.

wat lol

i think ive pocketed like over $150 from carbon poker freerolls and a few others like maybe $100-150 on full tilt. hardly a waste of time.

the massssive full tilt/stars public freerolls however, are indeed a massive waste of time though. freerolls in general are not.

 

[Exit141RTe1]

Nothing wrong with them. For the most part they are kinda fun. The Saturday freeroll on this site is simply the best. Loads of fun and great play.

 

[Mission Man 56]

I've been unemployed for quite some time now in this wonderful economy, so I can't deposit anything. However, I've started to build a little bankroll by playing freerolls. I agree with the posters above who've said they teach patience....that's a must in freerolls!

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

There are no useless things on the Earth

How about the human appendix? Or dandruff? Even Newcastle United football team?

 

[The Muppetteer]

My Freeroll Strategy is this:

For the first hand I will shove with any 2 picture cards any, 2 suited cards, any Ace or any pocket pair. If I have some rubbish hand like 72os I will then play like normal but will call any shove with A10s or better as the first few hands of freerolls are usually donkfests such as the wsop ME freerolls on FT.

So either all in first hand or sit and wait for the donks to kill each other and then play some poker.

The Muppetteer

 

[ph_il]

I'm using freerolls as a way to improve my MTT game as far when to change gears, improving my game during mid-late stages, etc.

I think freerolls are a great tool.

 

[Worak]

My Freeroll Strategy is this:

For the first hand I will shove with any 2 picture cards any, 2 suited cards, any Ace or any pocket pair. If I have some rubbish hand like 72os I will then play like normal but will call any shove with A10s or better as the first few hands of freerolls are usually donkfests such as the WSOP ME freerolls on FT.

So either all in first hand or sit and wait for the donks to kill each other and then play some poker.

The Muppetteer

shove with any 2 picture cards ,any 2 suited cards, any Ace or any pocket pair = rubbish hands

sit and wait for the donks to kill each other and then play some poker. = works best

 

[The Muppetteer]

shove with any 2 picture cards ,any 2 suited cards, any Ace or any pocket pair = rubbish hands

sit and wait for the donks to kill each other and then play some poker. = works best

While I agree with you in general terms there I have found that playing suited cards in the 1st actually works well and because players push all with rubbish hoping to get lucky a pocket or A may actually stand up.

The problem is waiting for a decent hand is that your 1500 doesnt really stack up against the big stacks who try to bully the small stacks and can get lucky and I honestly hate that situation.

I am happy either way but prefer the 2nd and hope not to get unlucky with my big hand

 

[Worak]

While I agree with you in general terms there I have found that playing suited cards in the 1st actually works well and because players push all with rubbish hoping to get lucky a pocket or A may actually stand up.

The problem is waiting for a decent hand is that your 1500 doesnt really stack up against the big stacks who try to bully the small stacks and can get lucky and I honestly hate that situation.

I am happy either way but prefer the 2nd and hope not to get unlucky with my big hand

No problem, I just wanted to say what works best for me - not necessarily for everyone.

And if your "nothing" is better than villains "nothing" - well go for it .

 

[smoovebrutha]

I like practicing in the freerolls. I feel improved and accomplished when I beat out thousands of players. The suck outs suck so horribly, but I think it's a learning lesson. I agree you have to know how to adapt to different players. Sure the payout isn't the greatest. But scared money don't make money. i've had some pretty crappy luck so my money is scared until I can build a bankroll hahaha.

 

[natswift]

I like playing in freerolls.
They give me an opportunity to practice new strategies i've learned on this site and in books i've read. However i've also learned not to take everything to heart as some of the strategies you use against alot of the players at least in the beginning of the tourney don't know what you are doing!!

"Damnit that's not what the book says you're supposed to do!!"

 

[Tom1559]

I think freerolls have a place in the game but please do not take them too seriously. I generally try to play them using my normal game but sometimes I do find myself getting dragged into the A rag betting scene. I went out last night to a guy who went all in against my AK with a K on the flop. I thought about it and called him and he had J10 hearts. The K was a heart and he hit two runner hearts. Not much you can do about that. In a buy in or cash game he would have folded to my raise.

 

[deumsac]

Really, as long as I don't take freerolls too seriously, they are GREAT practice for me. I can be aggressive without worrying about losing some money, and also I play them when I am in a drought and don't want to lose any more money

I don't play the 2700 player freerolls on FT though, except the turbo Ferguson one at 11:10 PM EST since 100 people get 1$T.

 

[malice777]

I have played in many freerolls and won a few getting through 1000 plus players after 5 or 6 hours play for a $15 win may seem like a waste of time to many but it is a great way to learn the skills of patience and endurance that will eventually stand you in good stead for a bigger challenge of getting through a high buy in game to win big money..

 

[gns2003]

I think you should play the freerolls to have fun and maybe try some different strategies before applying them to cash tournies. Just realize that the strategies you like as you work them out in freerolls may need to be tweaked.
But mostly, have fun!!!

 

[Elliegurl]

Freerolls can be a lot of fun and it's where my husband taught me how to play poker. I have won a little bit here and there, but they can take forever just to win a few pennies. But, I have been able to build a little bankroll, which I am now starting to use for sit and go's.

 

[left52side]

I try to use freerolls as a tool,
I play them different than my regular play in genral.
I acctually tend to play alot tighter in freerolls than in regular tournaments.
And my reasoning for that is in freerolls you tend to get alot more callers in big pots than you do in real money tournaments.

 

[roy22284]

FUN for some, waste of time for others!

It is fun for me because sometimes I do finish in the money, although not much- ITS FREE(cannot complain)! The reason the field is usually large is because of this fact. You have to play tight and hope to make it through, if you do- the rewards are good.

 

[narizblanco]

its a waste of time unless you make the final table. Then the higher you finish the more fun you have. Obvious I think