Poker Freerolls – Are They Worth It?

The simple answer for the majority of them is no!

In years gone by freerolls were used as a way for prospective players to test the software before depositing. The prizepools were similar if not smaller than now and entrants numbered the same also.

However that is where the similarities end. In days gone by players used to bring their 'A' game to the table every freeroll knowing that the competition would be tough. They would use all their knowledge gained from reading Harrington on Hold'em (still the best tournament poker book). Hoping to give their bankroll a jump start on this new site.

Nowadays most freerolls are thought of as a way to waste a couple of hours, with maniacal play almost the norm. In fact it is not unusual to see 3+ players going all in on preflop on the first hand with marginal at best holdings.

So why this alarming trend to maniacal play with players nowdays more poker literate than ever with even small stakes players participating in poker forums, reading books and using poker software such as Poker Tracker to help improve their game. In my opinion the reason is to do with the vast number of freerolls on offer at every poker site. No longer do you have to wait around for a freeroll to start, simply change site and enter one of the freerolls that are available 24/7. Now the prevailing theory is to 'double or bust', if you go out of one move over the next one. It is because of this you see strange all-in encounter and you can sense the frustrations of some players who have patiently waited for their big hand only to go out when they go all-in with AA and go out to KQos.

Many people now feel that it is not worth playing for 3+ hours struggling away just to finish in the money, their reward for all that hard work 2cents. They see poker freerolls as a distraction from real poker a place where you can call 2 all-ins with 67s in fact call with any 2 cards you have not invested anything and well you might get lucky.

These freerolls I stay well clear of, I used to enjoy the reckless abandonment as an escape from my daily grind. I found them perfect when I had a few bad beats and wanted to let off some steam. However I stopped playing in them when I found those reckless tendencies effecting my normal game.

Does this mean I now do not play freerolls?

On the contrary, I still love freerolls. However I am now much more selective on which I will spend my time on. Gone are the days I would join a tournament for $ 100 with over 1000 entrants. I now look for private tournaments and loyalty tournaments. Most of which are much better value. The really good thing about loyalty freerolls is that although you have not paid a buy-in you still have an attachment to them as you have played sometimes many hours for you place in them. As such the reckless abandonment you normally play with in freerolls is gone.

This is my advise give the $ 100 1000+ player freerolls a miss and look for those tournaments that are actually worth winning. As soon as you begin to care whether or not you win a tournament your play, results and most importantly you bankroll will improve.

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Source by Stephen Rt Graham