How To Build A Bankroll From Nothing

[cardplayer52]

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.

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.

 

[serendipity]

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!

 

[hurricanebezy]

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.

 

[chapstick]

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!

 

[GutShotGray]

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 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...

 

[DrMarcelo55]

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

 

[jho]

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.

 

[Steves22]

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.

 

[forsakenone]

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.

 

[JEP712]

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.

 

[Tom1559]

I would give the public freerolls a miss. They take too much time for too little reward. The CC freerolls are a great way to start off your bank roll. Good poker and decent prizes with sensible fields. If you win some money do not dive into using it on a buy in. Stick with the freerolls until you have a decent sized bankroll, say $50 to $100. They use it in some of the SnG's. 9 or 18 player $2 buy ins are a decent way to increase your bankroll or you could play the DoN SnGs. Good luck.

 

[GoneGreedy]

Someone gave me $25 and I lost it all, it's not that easy as it looks. I came 11th of 2700 people and got $0.28, now thats what i'm left with, but I am trying hard to build my bankroll up.

 

[Steves22]

It is just soooo tough because you wanna play with what little you have but you really can't. Yes like I said you can take your shots at the tournaments but it puts you into a position where you feel like you have to win. It's not good to have that weight on your back when playing. Playing the tables is risky too. One bad session and you can be broke, again your playing like you have to win. Its just alot more difficult than it was a few years ago. There isn't the same quality of freerolls that there used to be.

 

[Emperor IX]

The best way imo is to have someone you know stake you. Started with $0 on Full Tilt about four months ago and currently have over $1300 following strict brm. I was staked by a good friend for a tournament here for only $2, netting my first $5 in profit, then for a game of 50nl by my brother, which brought me up to about $100, Then $3.30 knockout games until I reached $200 ish, then playing .5/1 FLHE. Ok, so not strict, but I knew that I could crush that game. Moved up to 1/2 when I had $700-$800 in the middle of October, and am in the process of getting enough to play 2/4.

fwiw I've only played about 30k hands on Full Tilt with a pretty modest winrate of about 2.5BB/100, so it's not as if I was on a super heater. A few CC freeroll wins and 90 man ko's helped as well, but you get the idea.

I also did it on stars, turning $0 into about $400 in less than a month playing 10nl after being staked. I didn't use brm in the beginning because you can't manage<$200 for 10nl, but I was willing to take the risk.

 

[kobra80]

and I also undertook the challenge of $ 0 to $ 1,000 . on the first day I got $ 0.20 freeroll ftp

 

[Frozrbyte]

I started from $0 about 2 months ago. My bankroll now is about $103. It has fluctuated up and down and it's peak was at $125. My approach was to be aggressive with any cashes I made from freerolls below 5BI's of 2NL. That's because I don't have much to risk so i don't see the point of bankroll management yet. Above 5BI, I will add in SNG every now and then. I will start to be more conservative and obey strictly to bankroll management from 10BI's onward.
I'm not going to lie because it's true that you need to run good and have a bit of luck in the freerolls and on the cash tables with your first few dollars. It's not uncommon to lose it all by getting coolered.

My target is now $250 followed by $500 and $1000. Fingers crossed. I hope you get to achieve your goal

 

[bossbran]

Its very hard.. Have more and more patience and study the bankrollmanagement.. You must focus in all aspects.. goodluck

 

[AvaPoker13]

I had a few measly cents a week ago, and as I always do on PokerStars, playing just sit and go 2 cents got a third place and I won a nice value. Now I'm more just playing this tournament, where investment is very low and the successful outcome can cool to join your first money.

 

[VizziVizo]

Play CardsChat freerolls!They can help you, if u do not want to make deposit.

 

[jazzaxe]

I played a home game with some guys once a week and we played small stakes like a dollar limit. I used to play with 15.00 on the table and I usually had another 50.00 in my pocket. I didn't know how to play and usually broke even or won/lost ten dollars or so. When I switched over to online in 2006 I played freerolls for a couple of weeks and then I deposited a hundred dollars. I usually ended up having to deposit again after another month went by and I continued to do that. I figured that it was cheaper than the home game and I was willing to invest about 20 per week in my poker, as I would in the home game. If you get stuck I would put a hundred in the site every couple of months to get yourself jumped started. This challenge stuff is okay but we all are not going to do the Ferguson 10K from nothing.

 

[LPCG]

Deposit

 

[zooboss]

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

This looks awesome for me, i want achieve the same in two-three months. Its actually payfree learning so this way seems very profitable

 

[drapichrust]

i wouldn't bother playing freerolls with 10k other fishes - waste of time, and just invest 10$ and play some .2/.5 tables, later move to some tourneys

 

[diserg1]

Hi! - 1 PokerStars. freerolls
2. poker school free tickets
3. an open League
good luck.

 

[onondaga]

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.

this advice is only for loosing deposit! if u cant win nothing, u just win nothing, and thats all! im not a very good player, so never make a deposit, but last month i win 3x more amount u write, am i need to make a deposit? the advice for newby that he/she need to make a deposit is ridiculous! they need to get some practice first! and backing to the question, yes, everyone can make bank from nothing, if he want!