Are free poker games good for learning, or a waste of time?

mark_flint · Jul 8, 2025

Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to poker and have been spending the last few weeks trying to learn the fundamentals – starting hand charts, the importance of position, basic pot odds, etc. I found this forum and it seems like a great place to learn from experienced players.

My goal is to get comfortable with the mechanics and flow of the game before I even think about depositing real money. So, I've been trying out some free-to-play poker Apps and sites.

And while it's helpful for just seeing a lot of hands and getting used to the betting buttons, I'm getting a little worried. It feels like the "play money" environment is teaching me bad habits. People will go all-in with any two cards, nobody respects a 3-bet, and the game feels more like a lottery than a game of skill.

Is this a common problem with all free poker games? Am I actually hurting my long-term development by "practicing" in an environment that isn't realistic at all?

For the veterans here, what was your path when you first started? Did you use free games, or would you recommend just jumping into the lowest micro-stakes (like $0.01/$0.02) to get a more authentic experience?

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!

Mario7 · Jul 8, 2025

I started with play money as well. After relatively short time I was a winning player both in cash and tournaments (being still a poker newbie). Moved to NL2 ($0.01/$0.02) - it is MUCH harder - real Poker starts here, I'd say. So if you really want to learn and improve and you can afford it, my recomendation is to move to real money games.

As for the topic question, I wouldn't say it is a waste of time. Playing for play money is a good start. Just move on when you see it is too easy.

Tadi · Jul 8, 2025

Everything you wrote for free tournaments is true. My recommendation is that you play them and that in addition to all the disadvantages I am sure you will learn something. Play for about 1 year, then make a deposit and start with the lowest stakes.

dzsire · Jul 8, 2025

freerolls are definitely useful for building your foundation. You learn to be more patient and not play every round (even though many people do this as beginners). Freerolls are useful because you don't have to risk your own money, and if you win in a freeroll, you can invest it in more serious tournaments where you won't encounter the maniacs you see in freerolls.

fundiver199 · Jul 8, 2025

I began with play money games, and as you move up, players do start to become a little more serious. But even so if I had to do it again, I would definitely begin at 2NL. As you say, it gives you a much more realistic playing experience with less crazy all-in overbets etc. Even if you might lose a little in the beginning, I think, its a good investment, because it will speed up your learning curve tremendeously. And if you eventually become a winning player, then losing $50 or whatever in the beginning really wont matter at all

Omar.Imrane · Jul 8, 2025

Yes, free games often teach bad habits because people don’t play seriously.
If you can, try micro-stakes like $0.01/$0.02 — they give you a more realistic experience and better learning.
Good luck on your poker journey! 🙌

Mig32 · Jul 8, 2025

In my experience, free poker games have definitely helped me learn, especially in the beginning. They gave me a chance to understand the rules, hand rankings, and basic strategies without risking money.

That said, I also noticed that players don’t always take free games seriously, which makes the learning curve a bit limited when it comes to real strategy. But overall, I think they’re a good starting point — and once I felt more confident, I slowly moved into low-stakes real money games to keep improving.

sandy358 · Jul 10, 2025

mark_flint said:
Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to poker and have been spending the last few weeks trying to learn the fundamentals – starting hand charts, the importance of position, basic pot odds, etc. I found this forum and it seems like a great place to learn from experienced players.

My goal is to get comfortable with the mechanics and flow of the game before I even think about depositing real money. So, I've been trying out some free-to-play poker apps and sites.

And while it's helpful for just seeing a lot of hands and getting used to the betting buttons, I'm getting a little worried. It feels like the "play money" environment is teaching me bad habits. People will go all-in with any two cards, nobody respects a 3-bet, and the game feels more like a lottery than a game of skill.

Is this a common problem with all free poker games? Am I actually hurting my long-term development by "practicing" in an environment that isn't realistic at all?

For the veterans here, what was your path when you first started? Did you use free games, or would you recommend just jumping into the lowest micro-stakes (like $0.01/$0.02) to get a more authentic experience?

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!

I've heard that live cash games can get just as bad as play money ones. Though in any case, play money games are generally very weak, and you better switch to freerolls for practice. Freerolls are soft too, but players there are generally much better than the play money players.

I also agree with Mig32, playmoney may be quite good to get started with the game and understand the mechanichs and the rules properly, I myself started from playmoney. But, remember, if you are winning in play money, you are far from guranteed to be a winning player in real money games.

Playmoney MTTs are usually somewhat decent though, because a lot of horrible players get filtered at the start and you have relatively good players (by playmoney standards) and nits at around 50% field and less.

("Playmoney nits" sounds really funny for some reason)

Rost · Jul 10, 2025

Most freerolls are a bingo game. But not for everyone. There are players who play freerolls relying not so much on luck as on skills. If you want to improve your game in freerolls, you just need to play in CardsChat freerolls, where most of the players in our community play quite adequately and patiently.

Chippz · Jul 10, 2025

I am re-learning Poker as my previous experience was with home games, which taught me a whole other set of bad habits and misconceptions about how the game is played, at least at higher levels.

I understand that as you move up to even micro-stakes, some the crazy play you see from people who are just fooling around with play money tends to drop off. However, I'm not ready to move into even micro-stakes until I've built up a bankroll that is exclusively for poker. So far, I've found the play money Sit and Go (SNG) games on PokerStars to be a place where I can apply some of the theory I've been learning. You only have 500 chips to play the game with, and are knocked out once you've lost them all, so people seem to play much more seriously.

Additionally, I've even had some luck at the play cash tables when I'm at a game where other people appear to be interested in playing better. I'll sit at a table for a little bit, and if there are any maniacs, I'll leave after a few hands and try another game later. I've learned a few inexpensive expensive lessons that way. Granted, it's still not the same as the SNGs and the micro-stakes, but it at least scratches my itch to play when I have a few minutes here and there.

Iryna Stryzheuskaya · Jul 11, 2025

I do not see the benefits of playing the playmoney. The meaning of poker is a game of real money.

hardongear · Jul 11, 2025

Start right here: https://www.cardschat.com/poker/strategy/become-a-winning-poker-player/

After that you can have look here: https://pokercoaching.com/
Jonathan Little offers some good free resources and advice.

While you going over and study those two links start saving a bit of money each week or payday. Once you have $50-$100 deposit it on the site you choose to play and start at 2nl. Also when you get the chance play in Card Chat Freerolls. I'd recommend playing cash until you have built your bankroll to $500. Once at $500 I'd start playing $5 longer blind level 10+ mins MTT's on the weekends when traffic is the heaviest. And cash during the week.

Then you can have a look here: https://www.runitonce.com/
Runitonce Poker has some pretty good and cheapish cash and MTT courses. Check them out. You don't need to be spending money on any course close to 1k+.

Best of luck.

BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch · Jul 13, 2025

if you cant beat a bunch of play chip folks or they tilt you after a bad beat then you're going to have a lot more trouble trying to beat folks grinding some low level cash game trying to supplement food money in their low cost country lol.

I type that jokingly but i wouldnt be surprised if someone was actually doing that im sorry to type.

and if you cant hang with a clueless maniac at a playchip table then how are you going to beat one that actually has a clue and discipline to bail on certain hands while pressuring you for a cash buy in?

i looked at the hands played on ACR this week and at just 1/2 cent saw all those tables under 28% lol.

i remember full tilt tables anywhere from 60% and higher lol. those folks are nitty and probably using so many training aids like trackers, huds, equity calulators and god knows what else lol.

Youre at a disadvantage. i mean its a setup.

get a solid proven book thats easy to read and follow and will teach you the very basics and doesn't read like a tech manual so its boring and you ignore it.

study it and reference it for all your questions then go practice. and reread sections before and after sessions.

and ask what the author would suggest and go spend time thinking about the problem!

google is.your friend there for a book.

im not really a fan of stuff like youtube vids and the like because a lot of it will not be geared toward that low buy in youre starting out with. some of it is good while some not so much.

Littles stuff is good as recommended by a poster on this thread but some of the vids are long and sometimes advanced so im on the fence about recommending him in this instance.

and from reading his books he'll open up your starting range too much imo and you will not have the experience to play hands postflop just starting out.

he would be the next person i would tell you to study from after you get the basics down.

like in the beginning you should imo develop that discipline to fold certain trouble hands because whats going to happen is youre going to get out kicked for a buy in.

you can start expanding your range once you can get away from certain hands.

like if a coach reviewed your hands and saw you folding hands in certain spots. they would say you need to play certain hands/ more hands and defend more because youre going to be folding too much money/equity.

but in reality, imo, you really need to stop the bleeding by accepting basic stuff like playing out of position as a loss and focus on spots that are easier to play like in position and playing a more solid range until you get some discipline and experience then expand it. but whatever.

i mean, little will tell you in nearly all of his books that these arent basic books in the beginning lol.

but he's definjtely a great author and ill tell you to try any of his books as theyre written well and very informative and you really cant go wrong BUT. . . .it would be like me telling you to go with super system 2 because its solid and get you prepared for the 2+2 advanced books if this was the poker boom,lol.

the ride would be easier passing on littles stuff and focusing on the lighter material then trying littles material first.

i would suggest master micro stakes poker by hardin that would probably be what you're looking for. and NOT something like the grinders manual by clarke lol.

hardins book has definitions right on the pages if i remember correctly so some of the poker lingo is easy to follow and straight forward. And they were actually grinding that level so they have a clue about what to expect.

or mastering small stakes cash games by evan jarvis will serve as a solid general cash game book as he trys to explain why you do things and what to look out for.

evan has a youtube channel that if you search should find some very useful instructional vids like little but you kinda have to search for them.

then go after littles stuff.

so book first then vids, not the other way around. a book is structured and layered while vids are usually tidbits and all over the place.

and learn how to actually play then go get all the silly software.

If you have a clue what youre doing and have some discipline then you shouldnt have to deposit and you can use that money for training materials.

And that "you have to have it now/do it now" mentality when you're not prepared is the fastest way to a redeposit.

GL

SPANKYSN · Jul 14, 2025

mark_flint said:
Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to poker and have been spending the last few weeks trying to learn the fundamentals – starting hand charts, the importance of position, basic pot odds, etc. I found this forum and it seems like a great place to learn from experienced players.

My goal is to get comfortable with the mechanics and flow of the game before I even think about depositing real money. So, I've been trying out some free-to-play poker apps and sites.

And while it's helpful for just seeing a lot of hands and getting used to the betting buttons, I'm getting a little worried. It feels like the "play money" environment is teaching me bad habits. People will go all-in with any two cards, nobody respects a 3-bet, and the game feels more like a lottery than a game of skill.

Is this a common problem with all free poker games? Am I actually hurting my long-term development by "practicing" in an environment that isn't realistic at all?

For the veterans here, what was your path when you first started? Did you use free games, or would you recommend just jumping into the lowest micro-stakes (like $0.01/$0.02) to get a more authentic experience?

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!

Playing freerolls is like hitting a tennis ball against the wall. It may seem like there is nothing to gain, but you actually get more chances to improve your stroke because the wall does not miss returning your shot, does not need to stop to go to the bathroom or eat.

Of course there is a benefit for a beginner...I don't think Phil Helmuth uses freerolls to practice.

ROYALROAD · Jul 14, 2025

If you can't win with play money, there's no point in playing.
As soon as you start winning, move on to real money. It's a waste of time.

Stringy · Jul 14, 2025

every experience is good for learning or testing out theory but maybe the quality you get from free games is not of the higher standard

Navin Sarabjeet · Jul 14, 2025

Very good learning tool

anasslaaleg · Jul 14, 2025

In my opinion, free poker games are a good entry point... but they have their limitations.
They're perfect for learning the basics: rules, positions, how the software works, and the pace of the game. You can make mistakes without pressure, and they're a great way to start.
However, in the long run, they can become a waste of time if you want to progress seriously. Play-money players often do anything they want (call any 2, go all-in preflop with nothing, etc.), so you don't develop the right reflexes for real games.
My advice: start with that, then quickly move on to freerolls with real prizes, or micro buy-ins (€0.10 to €1) if your bankroll allows it. There, you'll learn to play real poker, with more serious players.
free poker is good for learning, but not for long-term practice.

infonazar · Jul 15, 2025

mark_flint said:
Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to poker and have been spending the last few weeks trying to learn the fundamentals – starting hand charts, the importance of position, basic pot odds, etc. I found this forum and it seems like a great place to learn from experienced players.

My goal is to get comfortable with the mechanics and flow of the game before I even think about depositing real money. So, I've been trying out some free-to-play poker apps and sites.

And while it's helpful for just seeing a lot of hands and getting used to the betting buttons, I'm getting a little worried. It feels like the "play money" environment is teaching me bad habits. People will go all-in with any two cards, nobody respects a 3-bet, and the game feels more like a lottery than a game of skill.

Is this a common problem with all free poker games? Am I actually hurting my long-term development by "practicing" in an environment that isn't realistic at all?

For the veterans here, what was your path when you first started? Did you use free games, or would you recommend just jumping into the lowest micro-stakes (like $0.01/$0.02) to get a more authentic experience?

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!

When I started, I started with cash games and tournaments. I would lose money and it would make me upset and angry. Then I realized that I could play freerolls without risking my own money. Therefore, in my opinion, freerolls are the best option for a beginner to get a good start.

Are free poker games good for learning, or a waste of time?

mark_flint

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Mario7

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Tadi

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dzsire

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fundiver199

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Omar.Imrane

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Mig32

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sandy358

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Rost

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Chippz

Rising Star

Iryna Stryzheuskaya

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hardongear

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BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch

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SPANKYSN

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ROYALROAD

Visionary

Stringy

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Navin Sarabjeet

❤️ 🇸🇷 ❤️

anasslaaleg

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infonazar

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