Are freerolls a realistic way to learn Tournament poker?

[levidoff]

I think freerolls are not a realistic way to learn about a poker tournament. The fact is that in freerolls people play anyhow. Play with any two cards.
People don’t pay buy-in for participation. That's why they play it. And you can’t learn anything in freerolls.

 

[BrazilBrazil]

The freerolls are good to learn, but there are many who play without discretion for being free ...

 

[Worak]

As said you might not learn enough to beat buy-ins but it will lay a good foundation in understanding MTT play for free.
I only play CC games (after a loooong break) and cashed in yesterdays and todays freerolls - so anyone else can I guess 😁.

What did I learn ?
Don't missclick shove 54o and J4o into preflop 3bets, lol.

 

[pepomjp]

withdraw

I have played only freerolls to learn poker, I also played them to start a bank rolls, at poker sites, it works. I refuse to put my own money in ,until I have large bank rolls from freerolls or playing in buy in tournaments after increasing your money as you play. That's how I have done my withdraws at any sites. But playing in bigger buy in tournaments players are better ,I find but still need to have luck as well. All my money I have won, started from freerolls, played $1-$5 buy ins and cashed it some money until it was worth depositing to withdraw.

Can you tell me which poker room you made a withdraw?

 

[pepomjp]

I am struggling with tilt, I am spewing away my money every month and I just don't want to do that anymore. So, I was wanting to know is are free rolls a good way to learn to control tilt before using your own hard earned money or is that just a waste of time. I want to learn poker and get better at it but i continue to waste my money. Would like to know what you think thanks

If you are struggling in cash games I dont think in freerools tournaments to control tilt. In freeroll tournaments you will drive crazy. Cash games are less crazy. I recommend you read poker strategy and basics on this site.

 

[bellicoso]

I am struggling with tilt, I am spewing away my money every month and I just don't want to do that anymore. So, I was wanting to know is are free rolls a good way to learn to control tilt before using your own hard earned money or is that just a waste of time. I want to learn poker and get better at it but i continue to waste my money. Would like to know what you think thanks

I can say, from my experience, that yes you can learn to control your game/tilt in freerolls. In fact, you can study new material and apply what you learn to games which cost you no money, just time.

Some might argue that freerolls are too chaotic of an environment. However, I believe that this is exactly what you need to be able to overcome on a regular basis. You'll run into all types of players in a freeroll. How will you counter their plays? What will make you better against a LAG player or TAG player? How about starting with a short stack or a fast blinds clock? You'll hit these cases in a freeroll. Personally, I just wish there were more of them!

Anyway, good luck to you going forward.

 

[swoopdonk]

No...but they are free.

 

[Worak]

I can say, from my experience, that yes you can learn to control your game/tilt in freerolls. In fact, you can study new material and apply what you learn to games which cost you no money, just time.

Some might argue that freerolls are too chaotic of an environment. However, I believe that this is exactly what you need to be able to overcome on a regular basis. You'll run into all types of players in a freeroll. How will you counter their plays? What will make you better against a LAG player or TAG player? How about starting with a short stack or a fast blinds clock? You'll hit these cases in a freeroll. Personally, I just wish there were more of them!

Anyway, good luck to you going forward.

Very well put. 👍

 

[ggteam2]

I believe to some degree yes - it's a way to learn how to play poker.

 

[Bleubi12]

You must be patient and do not venture, and free learning is necessary

 

[greatgame230]

For me, freerolls and micro-tournaments are used to practice but it does not resemble tournaments with high Buy-ins, the type of player (in his way of playing) that is in a freerolls or micro-tournaments is very different the player you can find in tournaments with higher Buys-in

 

[akmost]

I don't think so , you can build a bankroll especially with CC freerolls but that's it.
You will never become better by playing only freerolls. You can win those by playing only your top range and never bluff but if you play a serious MTT they will eat you alive.

IMHO you should play also some cash games in order to improve your post flop game and your range reading on the opponent and after that play some buy in tournaments where the players respect their buy in.

 

[fishfood80]

As with many things poker related it depends. Cardschat free rolls are good tourneys to get your feet wet because I feel the player pool is better than you average free rolls. But I feel most free buys are def not good to learn. A lot of crazy all ins and 20x opens are surely not the norm.

 

[Hemified]

There a good start. They are good on bad runs. Even the best get beat. Making it fun or serious is up to you.

 

[Vilgeoforc]

You need to look for your mistakes in the game. Freerolls will not help you, but they are very useful in developing your psychological stability. If you regularly get to the final table in a free tournament, then you have iron nerves, and you are perfectly able to handle the tilt.

 

[ACESOVEREZZZ]

Learning Poker

I would say playing in freerolls is NOT the way to learn poker. Just too many "bingo players" going all in with 7 / 8 off suit & winning dahhhh

Unless it is a CC freeroll where there are lots of good "poker players not bingo players" I'd say most site sponsored freeroll's is not a good way to learn the game of poker.

Cheers & good luck to ya all! :beer:

 

[StepUp]

I wouldn't recommand freerolls to build strong poker skills but if you want to get really good start studying poker and analysing hands with more experienced players then once you have acquired a good potential start playing freerolls to build your bankroll for small tours or sng. It's always important to keep leraning since the game is really changing each couple of years.

 

[rock0001]

there arent many freerolls at least in pokerstars nowadays, so if you have the chance to play in the cardschat freeroll club tournaments you have a great chance to start a decent bankroll without risking any money of your own..

 

[johnsulliv]

Free rolls bring similar challenges that all tournaments bring.
IMO
It has gears, table dynamics, hands, etc.
It’s cheaper to practice against.
Some of them, cc included are highly enjoyable and even tough between the middle and later stages.

 

[Vorem]

my opinion - playing freerolls is very different from regular buy-in tournaments (not counting very cheap tournaments up to $ 0.5).

 

[kowrip]

There is no harm in playing freerolls. They are certainly useful for learning the game play and seeing lots of hands and different situations. However, you really need to keep in mind that moving up from freerolls to micro/low buy-ins to higher buy-ins has a big impact on the game play. Each time you move up in stakes, you need to learn the differences and adjust your play. I feel that a new player is better off learning from the low stakes tournaments. Having just started playing online a couple months ago, I find that the $5 / $10 online tournaments don't play much differently than the live tournaments I've been playing these past few years.

 

[pokerace420]

After the first couple levels after all the spews are gone

 

[killosaby]

Great info in this thread, thanks! I love freerolls. Didn’t understand how the play can cause leaks.

 

[zinzir]

I think freerolls are the best way to learn tournament poker. Yes, there are people like me who play simply for fun and go all in preflop, but you don't have to do that yourself, just play solid poker, pay attention, take notes, be patient, and you are guaranteed to learn just as much as you would from playing any MTT. Good luck at the tables!

 

[DaShizNit1133]

Freerolls and play chips of any kind allow you the freedom to experiment a bit with your game, strategies, play variations, etc. without the risk. I love playing in freerolls any chance I get. Bonus when you win free $$$ as well!!