Why people talk badly about freerolls

[ammje]

Because in freerolls there are crazy players, and that doesn't help you improve your game, on the contrary.

 

[1nsomn1a]

It all depends on the player himself, someone can play for money for years and not master anything in poker, and someone can take a lot of useful things from freerolls.

 

[BillyR23]

Like everything in life- freerolls have pros and cons, so (IMO) it depends a lot on the type of poker player you are and also how much money/ time you actually want to invest in the game... I still think that even now in 2021, at some sites you can still learn poker and build a decent bankroll without any deposit if you are disciplined, put enough volume and have a decent plan going forward * I've seen many friends building around $100 from nothing just to constantly pick the wrong games and having to start over and over again(PS. I still believe 888poker is the best site for starting your journey as there are many daily freerolls with no requirement or really easy ones)...

GL and HF all at the tables!

 

[ph_il]

Because in freerolls there are crazy players, and that doesn't help you improve your game, on the contrary.

so, crazy freeroll players force all of your decisions? you can't learn how to properly adjust or how to make more +ev / less -ev choices because of crazy players?

 

[vittopio]

I don't agree with the fact that you can't learn how to play poker in freerolls! You just need to understand that here people play for fun and often commit inappropriate actions, since they do not risk anything!

 

[nuttea]

I like freerolls, but I have watched some videos where people said that freerolls are bad to learn poker concepts. Why do they say that? Do you agree?

The advantage is the opportunity to get a free experience of playing multi-table tournaments. The disadvantages include the diversity of the audience. Free entry makes the game available to absolutely everyone, which sometimes becomes the reason for too risky, aggressive competitions. Many experts believe that freerolls are best for learning poker from the ground up. By starting here, players have the opportunity to grow in limits in the future.Freerolls are rarely played by people with at least the slightest experience in poker. At the first stage of this competition, there is often a real confusion. In such a situation, it is almost impossible to determine which of the opponents has really strong cards.

 

[Zapahlohotrona]

Any poker tactics, strategy or tricks in freerolls are simply pointless. Freerolls have their pros and cons. You can only say for sure that you will definitely not learn how to play poker in them.

 

[fundiver199]

If you are solely playing for fun, then freerolls are obviously going to be fine, since you can win money in them but never lose. So its basically free entertainment, and if you cash, you can then go and spend the money in the casino or sportsbetting section, which most sites have.

If you are more serious about poker, then freerolls are still fine to get some practice, if you are brand new to the game. Or you could do, what I personally did back in the day, which was to begin with play money games. You dont want to do, what I also did though, which is to stick to either play money games or freerolls for to long. Actually the first part of my poker story is very similar to that of Nathan Villiams, which tell his story here.

As Nathan I did not want to "gamble" with real money, but given that you can play cash games as low as 2NL and SnGs even cheaper, that was in hindsight rather silly. As soon as I took the step and moved to real money games, I was right away a winner at 2NL, so if nothing else I could have played these games for free and enjoyed it quite a bit more than the frankly silly play money games, I spend so much time playing on Zynga Poker.

So sure. If you are just starting to dip your feet in and learning to read boards like for instance understanding, that the river card did not help you, if you have Q4 on QT2-T-4, then by all means play some freerolls or play money games to learn those things. Or learn to fold an overpair, if stacks are deep, and you face a ton of heat.

All freerolls are not created equal though. The CC freerolls all have a reasonable blind structure, and those reserved for platinum members also see a reasonable level of play, which is not to different from microstakes games. But there are also other freerolls out there, like for instance 888 Poker offering freerolls with 1 min blind intervals, and these are not nearly as good for learning, since they are simply to different from a normal MTT with 5-12 min blind intervals.

But even if you stick to the "good" freerolls, you need to get into real money games as soon as possible. The reason is, that if you only play freerolls, you are simply not getting practice fast enough. For instance there is a daily CC freeroll on PokerStars, but if you only play this, its only 1 game per day. Whereas if you add in some 45 man SnGs, you can play maybe 10 games a day and get practice 10 times as fast.

Playing real money games is also the only way to build a track record, so that you have a reasonable idea, you are a winning player. In theory its completely possible to play freerolls, until you have 750$, and then jump into 15$ SnGs. But by not having played SnGs for lower buyins to get there, you wont know, if you are beating those 15$ SnGs, and most likely you are not. And this is why, you should start playing 1,5$ SnGs, and then 3,5$ SnGs, or whatever the limits are on a certain site, to build up a track record as well as a bankroll.

Finally playing freerolls will not subject you to the feeling of losing, and you will therefore not learn how to manage tilt. If you run bad in freerolls, the balance in the poker account stay unchanged, but this is not, how poker works, when you play with your own money. And since tilt is one of the biggest killers of winrates, this is something, you need to learn to deal with, as Nathan talks about in this video:

 

[mariale_1990]

What happens is that a large part of the players tend to play in a crazy, irrational way, it is as if nothing matters because as they do not invest money, only time. many times it is difficult to face such situations and especially if you want to apply your knowledge

 

[DaaBee]

They say that because they can’t win them!!!!! You need skill to win freerolls !

You need skill to win [full stop]

 

[mouTAT]

If you survive the early stages it's up to your skills for the rest

 

[Luvepoker]

Early on free roll can be a bit wild and odd is the issue. You will get called by 69o for a 150BB shove with aces. This being said they are valuable when learning the game. After a level or 2 you will find the play bad but your skill really can come into play.

When I played my 1st WPT I saw a player play for a raise 70 or 80% of hands early on and people fold. At break a player complained about it being like a free roll. It was funny as this guy did not recognize the player was a top 20 ranked player in the world. He would raise and avoid players who played back against him. Crazy play happens at all levels. That,s why Phil Helmuths call the main event like dodging a minefield with the players he plays.

 

[AllOut]

You'll understand once you 4-bet shove your AA from mid position and get called by the rest of the table. You'll lose to any random trash hand and busted out. (not same for CC tourneys)

 

[flattershay]

Totally disagree. It's the best place to learn and also build a bankroll for potential real money games.

 

[7jules]

it's not the freeroll's that are different, after all poker is poker. It's people's attitude to that particular competition, .....and it's all about playing the other player's is it not!

 

[serebec]

Usually in freerolls there are many bluffs you get used to completing with weak hands and to win and in buy-in towers you will often lose with the same cards

 

[Rost]

I do not agree. I think freerolls are the best option for a beginner. Freerolls allow you to master the basics of the game and gain the necessary experience.

 

[AlexsandrM36]

I think freerolls are needed to attract more beginner poker players. This is a proven marketing gimmick. People register on poker sites and play freerolls at first, and then try to play for money. Freerolls are good advertising.
For beginners, freerolls are good only because they do not need to pay their own money. Freerolls are useless for the tutorial. It is impossible to learn poker in such tournaments.
Good luck to everyone in the game!

 

[wagon596]

Just don't think moves that you see on TV are going to be the right moves in a freeroll. On TV there are players who know how to play a better game than most players in a freeroll. Just my thoughts.

 

[vadimcs1495]

I like freerolls, but I have watched some videos where people said that freerolls are bad to learn poker concepts. Why do they say that? Do you agree?

Hi . For most people, freerolls are a passive way of earning money and building their own bankroll. Why negative? There are two answers, a large number of amateurs and a lot of people in the tournament. And the chance to get into itm becomes scanty.

 

[Roger1960]

A good many people don't try to improve their game is why they think they are a waste of time. If you do them right you will learn.
Doing them right is doing some reading, then applying what you read. Especially for position for me, it was the hardest thing for me to understand, don't know why. lol

The more you play, the more you realize what you have read. Then re-read and play some more.
Learn how each player bets, write notes. Cheat a little by looking at the leader board and recognize the best consistent players. You can notice easily. And also notice these "freerolls" are worth playing, it gives everyone's stats of how much money they earned in a year. I bet they don't think they are "freerolls"...
Pay attention to how they play their hands, then it will be easier to figure out some other players.

 

[jsnake716]

The reason you hear all kinds of things about free rolls is because most players in a free roll are not playing a sound strategy, which is true, BUT -let's be honest, most players in the micros and low stakes Mtt's are NOT playing a sound strategy either.

This is my advice when it comes to free rolls, (I am NOT a wizard), I have done reasonable well navigating these stakes and I have plenty of experience. This is because I don't take risks so I have stayed at stakes when most would have moved up. My advice is to keep in mind you are playing a free roll, and play accordingly. Don't run wild triple barreled bluffs because you think it is GTO. Bet strong hands for value, don't hero call unless you have a specific note on the player, and play a little tighter than you normally play.

Pretty simple. Good luck and crush the Free rolls

 

[7thseal]

I say it doesn't matter one bit. You can learn from each game you play. In all games you have to know your opponent. Yes, regular games might have people who gamble less with the cards they have when money is on the line. Having said that at some point you will find a cash tourney where somebody has deep pockets and re-buys left and right. Like I said you have to know your opponent. Playing a freeroll still has money on the line. Play your style as such. It is important to be consistent with your play and judge each situation accordingly. If you see someone playing loose, then sting them with a guaranteed winner. Use each situation to your advantage and no matter the tournament you will walk away a winner.

 

[Sschafell]

I believe that players play anyway because it's frerroll!

 

[recerveau]

I like freerolls, but I have watched some videos where people said that freerolls are bad to learn poker concepts. Why do they say that? Do you agree?

It's definitely not the best place to play at a high level. But you have a good range of player levels to test your adaptation.