Are freerolls damaging your poker game

[kamciono5]

Honestly it's really hard to learn anything playing freerolls, because many times are situations like someone go all in with 27o and win with your AA or there are players who go all in every hand. People usually don't care about freerolls where are 400+ players so they play for this type of games just for fun.

 

[HeyMan]

Use Freerolls to try new things outside of your normal range.Test playing different hands from position or out of position and learn to protect your blinds with a wide range of hands. Have fun but be ready to adjust in live play or online when you buyin to play.

 

[bigredwolf]

I have never spent a penny of my own money on poker. I started out with freeroll winnings and moved money between sites to take advantage of offers. I have made enough over the years to buy a few things I wouldn't have been able to at the time. I now play occasional cash games but still mostly freerolls. I did find I wasn't able to cope with a big game when I got into one through a satellite. I have freerolled into the sunday storm and even the sunday million once, and it seems impossible. So I would say you're either a freeroll type player or not.

Well I am at the beginning of the journey you describe. I targeted winning $100 on freerolls before moving to $.50 tournaments and that's where I am now. Tried a $.40 sat for that Sunday Storm, but no luck yet!

I think you can learn a lot from freerolls, but have to be careful not to expect the next level to be the same. Adjusting is tricky, not as easy as I thought, but I am improving. I think if you are a very good player you must be able to switch to any level and make adjustments to your game to beat that level. That is much harder than doing just one type, but I am sure it is possible

 

[Mr_RichRich]

Use Freerolls to try new things outside of your normal range.Test playing different hands from position or out of position and learn to protect your blinds with a wide range of hands. Have fun but be ready to adjust in live play or online when you buyin to play.

oh man that is so true .
i see freerolling as a training class for trying new and crazy moves never played before.
i think freerolls are so important from time to time especially before a big tournament , because it gives you some confident and mind connection in your next step.
i always start my session with a couple of freerolls , before i go big buyins.

 

[mkdrummey]

The biggest problem with freerolls with a big field is that people don't fold because the prizepool is only small and very heavily weighted to the top 3 players. The more players the lower the rewards. I was lucky that when I started out online poker was booming and I could play on pretty much any site without restriction. There were some pretty lucrative freeroll offers at that time. MPN skins were running $1000 freerolls every few hours with no entry requirements. There were some sites that ran exclusive freerolls that would only attract 15 - 20 players or so because not many knew about them. Of course this was unsustainable in the longer term, and the trick was to get your money out before the site closed down, usually the warning signs were when exclusive games started to reduce in value.

pokerstars used to run a league where you could get a cash reward every month for a high placed finish, which wasn't too hard to achieve because again you would get players that just saw it as a freeroll for a few cents without seeing the bigger picture. Just surviving for an hour or so would be good enough most of the time to get league points.

All this pretty much ended when the USA market disappeared. Now other regulation has affected where I can play and more an more sites seem to be disappearing or merging and freerolls are getting fewer and less valuable. Private freerolls seem to be the best option now.

I don't believe online poker will ever experience the boom again. And with less frequent games at my bankroll level I don't expect my game to improve.

 

[stephan7]

I know freerolls are incredibly popular among recreational and beginning level players. They're commonly viewed as a risk free way of building up a bankroll. A chance to develop your poker skills without worrying about losing the shirt off your back. Most of us got our introduction to online poker by playing exclusively in these type of games. After playing dozens if not hundreds of them the majority of players have yet to build even a modest bankroll. I don't view that as a issue but what I believe is happening is that these freerolls are hindering most people from becoming good poker players and preventing them from ever being able to build a bankroll in the future. We call it real poker but the truth is that freerolls are played much the same as play money poker is and they bare little to no resemblance to the tournaments that require buyins. I large number of the people playing the freerolls have little interest in actually playing or even learning how to play poker. Because of that the games are overwhelmed by bad poker play. So much so that many of the things considered poker no-no's are done so regularly that you begin to think they're how your supposed to play. In freerolls almost every hand starts with a open limp followed by five or six more players limping behind. No one seems to know how to size a bet they limp unless they got ace-anything then they panic shove all in. The flop comes and followed by the inevitable donk bets. If a player makes top pair you can almost count on them snap shoving all in and then hoping someone with a middle pair is dumb enough to call which they often are. When a player looses a decent size pot it's a safe bet that the next 3 or 4 hands they'll be shoving all in preflop as they try and shake the tilt off. If you don't know any better you would just assume that this is how poker is played but against a table full of average or better players you'll be laughed roff the table right after they've taken all your chips. I honestly think freerolls teach people how to be bad poker players. If a person's ambition is becoming a good player then it would be wise of them to stay away from freerolls altogether

I believe that freerolls are good for beginning players like myself because it helps us learn how tournaments work and of course you get those occasional all-inns with like jack 9 cause they don't know what they are doing. I think that overall though it helps new players learn how poker tournaments are and how to play certain hands.

 

[Snake2007]

I don't think Freeroll is damaging my game. I think I play a lot more trouble with freerolls than with tournaments where I invest money.

 

[KickerSharp]

Freerolls are very good because of the diversity of players...what better way to sharpen skills

 

[Nikolay Nakhaev]

Freerolls are very good because of the diversity of players...what better way to sharpen skills

when you play freeroll you need a lot of sedative pills🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[hozjain1980]

Привет

I know what freerolls are incredibly popular among recreational and novice players. They are generally regarded as risk-free way to build your bankroll. A chance to develop your poker skills without having to worry about losing your shirt back. Most of us were introduced to online poker by playing exclusively in such games. After playing dozens if not hundreds of them, most players have yet to build even a modest bankroll.I do not see this as a problem, but I believe that these freerolls prevent the majority of people become good poker players and prevent them from ever build a bankroll in the future. We call it a real poker, but the truth is that freerolls play nearly as well as poker for play money, and they have almost no resemblance to the tournaments that require buyins. I have a large number of people playing in freerolls, have little interest in the actual game, or even learn how to play poker. Because of this, the game overwhelmed a bad game of poker.So much so that many of the things that are considered a no-no poker, done so regularly, that you begin to think they are, you have to play. Freerolls almost every hand begins with an open claudication, followed by five or six players limping behind. No one seems to know how to evaluate the rates they limp, if they do not have an ace-anything, then they shoved all in panic. The flop comes, and is accompanied by the inevitable donk bets. If a player makes a top pair, you can almost count on the fact that they are all snapped, and then hope that someone with middle pair stupid enough to call, they often.When a player loses a decent size of the pot, it's a safe bet that the next 3 or 4 hands they will push all in preflop when they are trying to shake off the slope. If you do not know any better, you just assume that this is what playing poker, but against a table full of middle or top players, you will laugh at the table as soon as they pick up all your chips. I honestly think that freerolls teach people how to be a bad poker players. If a person's ambitions become a good player, it would be wise on their part to stay away from all freerolls

I do not agree with this. When players play on the chips, they are learning to play and learn about poker freerolls are those same chips but with real prizes.

 

[Polytarp]

Free rolls aren't free since you pay with your time (and electricity, wear and tear on your computer..etc). You can win pennies or hundreds of dollars (depending upon what you qualify for) or you can waste your time and play like a fool. Play well consistently, apply good bankroll management as well as good time management and your bankroll will increase relative to the variance of your game of choice.:driver:

 

[freerollz]

A freeroll is what you make of it. If you understand the nature of your opponents, their ranges, etc., then it's really a matter of adapting.

Sure you could fall into bad habits by playing with players who may not value their chips or make strange plays–I sure have at times–but that's not really the freeroll's fault, now is it?

 

[tutanota]

when you will be millionaire you have to remember about bad times. so its good that now freerolls are able in big county

 

[kidrock1211]

Freerolls are fun if you know just that they are freerolls people will play anything at any time! You raise up aces or go all in expect to be called with some fish holding 3-5 off-suit and there's a good chance he sucks out and your done! It's a whole different game when you have to put your own money in! Freerolls to me are the best teaching tool on what not to do!

 

[NauGad]

Freerolls

The main problem with freerolls is the number of players. When 5,000 players fight for $ 1, that's crazy.

 

[ritz_avalanche]

Nope they are helping build my bankroll

 

[jsh169]

Yes, whatever you win in a fr you will likely lose in a real game.

 

[Dalyn]

Freerolls are good for beginner players

 

[tigervball]

I think good players will adjust to any situation and learn to play well on it. Playing different formats helps to round out your game.

 

[MrAlabama]

You have to realize what game you're in. Freerolls are a way to build a bankroll from nothing. The ones provided by the sites are often free for alls in the beginning. Those who continue to play that way will not win very often. The starting stacks are often so small that by the time you get a good starting hand (unless you are incredibly lucky) it becomes a push/fold situation. I think so long as you keep in mind what type of tournament you're playing and you're studying the game they shouldn't harm your development.

totally. the only thing damaging my game is when i play like an idiot. which is 40% of the time probably

 

[Popescu97]

I like freerol s that s relaxing and bonus you can earn some money

 

[josall002]

It's important to remember that freeroll are a different kind of poker. Otherwise, yeah, it could impact your game.

 

[Lenka65]

Freerolls

I can only afford to play freerolls, as I don't have the money to play cash games. The question is closed so far for me about the dangers of freerolls.

 

[akgross]

Most likely you just have insecurity in the game for real money. Believe in your abilities and play without constraint. They also use bluffs against you and crush the stack in the hope of your mistake and use programs that give an advantage in the game.

 

[1player2]

What a great thread. I was just thinking about this yesterday. I have been playing in a montage of freerolls all week since the coronavirus surge of online poker players. I have finished in the money in two of them. Regardless last night I was playing in a paid Deep stack tourney and I found myself in the money and playing extremely tight because I always assumed someone was going to shove if I 3bet. I think I'll probably look into this more and I appreciate the thread.

Good Luck To All