Best Poker Freerolls Sites
What is Freeroll Poker?
As the name implies, freerolls are free to play. That’s what makes them the best way for new players to learn poker, get a feel for the game and start building a bankroll of their own. While the tournaments are free to enter, they offer small cash prizes for the top finishers. This makes it possible to start building millions for free. Luckily, nearly all the best online poker sites off some kind of freeroll.
A lot of players have gotten their start playing on free poker sites, and a few pros have even tried to challenge themselves by building up a bankroll from nothing. The path is there; it can be done, it just takes time, dedication, and practice. Since the tournaments free to enter, you aren’t limited by your bankroll, only by the number of tournaments available and time you want to put into improving your poker skills. Once you’ve mastered your skills in the free game and have built up a small bankroll, then you can jump to the more lucrative cash games or poker tournaments with tons of experience under your belt.
There are all different kinds of freerolls, too. You can play in tournaments or ring games. They’re also offered across the spectrum of poker games. You can play freeroll Texas No-Limit Hold’em or a number of other poker variants like Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, or Razz.
Free Poker vs. Freerolls
Freeroll tournaments are online events that cost nothing to enter, but there is a chance to win real money. These tournaments are very popular with beginner players because there is zero risk involved. Free poker is simply free poker games where no real money is awarded and is usually played for fun or for practice.
How Do Poker Freerolls Work?
The Prize: The prize pool can either be split among a number of participants or go all to the winner’s account (winner-take-all freerolls). These prizes can be real money, special poker bonuses, swag, or tickets to other events.
The Stack: Each player will get what’s called a starting stack of chips. It is free, and every player is awarded the same amount of chips.
The Gameplay: Freeroll games have the same rules as whatever poker variant is being played. New players really enjoy this because it gives them first-hand experience.
The Structure: Tournament antes and blinds may increase based on the event.
Pros and Cons of Free Rolls
Pros
- Freerolls are free to play
- Most events attract beginners and low-skilled players
- Freerolls are a great way to learn how to play different poker variants
- They are low-pressure poker events so you can explore different poker strategies
Cons
- Prize pools can be small
- Beginners make playing unpredictable
- The best freerolls are either password-protected events or open only to VIP players
- Only the biggest poker sites have freerolls to play lesser- known variants
What Makes a Great Poker Freeroll Room?
There are four key characteristics that are signs that you’re in a great poker freeroll room:
- No-deposit bonuses
- Poker bonuses
- Casino bonuses
- Free spins
Pros who Started by Playing Freerolls
Annette Obrestad famously won the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe a day before her 19th birthday for £1 million and has won millions of dollars in tournament poker since. But before she got to that WSOP final table, Obrestead, from Norway, had built up a ton of experience playing freerolls. Obrestad started playing poker as a teenager, when she wasn’t even old enough to deposit money on a poker site. That’s why she started playing freerolls and slowly started building experience and a bankroll.
Eventually, Obrestad kept moving up the stakes and making more money. Obrestad is said to have cashed out nearly $500,000 on PokerStars and hundreds of thousands of dollars on other sites. When she finally did deposit, there’s no doubt that a few poker bonuses helped push her bankroll up a bit.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, a co-founder of Full Tilt Poker and the 2000 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion, is a bit too old to have started out with freerolls, but he did show that it’s possible to build a roll from nothing.
In 2006, Ferguson took on a challenge to build a $10,000 bankroll from scratch. He started out by playing freerolls and it took him a few weeks to build up his first $2. After that, Ferguson built it up to $22 and started playing micro-stakes cash games and $1 tournaments. Little by little, Ferguson kept building and completed the challenge a year later in 2007.
Disciplined Bankroll Management
Ferguson wouldn’t have completed his challenge if he didn’t adhere to strict bankroll management guidelines. Nearly all to high-stakes pros have gotten to where they are by using disciplined bankroll management and making sure to only play higher stakes as their skills improved. Part of disciplined bankroll management is patience and knowing your skill level. Playing in games where you’re severely out-skilled isn’t great for your bankroll. That’s why discipline and patience are also essential in becoming a successful poker pro.
You’ll see the shift in skills every time you move up or down in stakes. People in freerolls play very differently than real-money players. And mid-stakes players play very differently from micro-stakes players. So don’t jump in too deep at first. Start out slowly, and learn the new stakes as you jump up.
US Poker Sites with Great Freerolls
Freerolls are a bit tougher to find in 2024, but all the major sites still offer some kind of freeroll. PokerStars still hosts several freerolls throughout each day. Some sites in New Jersey and Nevada have freerolls peppered throughout their schedules.
BetOnline stopped offering freerolls in 2018, but they do have deposit bonuses for new players. If you sign up for an account there, you qualify for the New Player Freeroll bonus that offers up to $10,000 in prizes. The tournament runs on the second Sunday of each month and new players are given a free ticket to enter. The site also offers a Happy Hour Freeroll every Monday, but those winnings can only be used on the site’s live casino.
If you want more frequent freerolls, then 888 poker offers daily freeroll tournaments. 888 poker offers nearly $50,000 in freeroll prizes every week.
These are just some bonuses and freerolls out there. You can use any of these promotions to jumpstart your poker career with a minimal investment. You can start working your way toward your poker goals today.
Top Rated Freeroll Sites
Two of the top-rated poker freeroll sites are BetOnline and ACR.
BetOnline has nearly $20,000 in monthly poker freerolls for depositors and regular players.
BetOnline freerolls offer:
- Only for new players
- First-time depositors receive 8 days of free tournament tickets
- Tournaments are steps to $100K Sunday Showdown
You can read our full review of BetOnline.
ACR Poker, formerly Americas Cardroom, freerolls offer:
- Eight freerolls every day of the week, each with a $50 prize pool
- Freerolls have only 30 minutes of late registration.
- Cap per freeroll is 2,000 entries.
- No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha freerolls available
You can read our full review of ACR.
Legal Poker Rooms and States
If you’re in New Jersey, Michigan, or Pennsylvania, PokerStars is a great option to get started with freerolls. They’re almost always available. Just log on, and check the lobby for freeroll tournaments.
Players in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada can also find freerolls on the WSOP site. They have a daily $100 freeroll bonus with a maximum capacity of 600 players. So, be sure to sign up early. If you’re a member of the US Armed Forces, a police department or fire department, you can also qualify in the site’s monthly Hero Freeroll bonus.
If these don’t suit you, then there are plenty of alternative online poker options out there.
US Poker Sites with the “Best Value” Freerolls
If you’re in New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, or Pennsylvania, WSOP has the best freerolls. After that, ACR Poker has the most solid offerings.
If you agree, disagree, or just want to chime in, then make your voice heard with an online poker site review.
These sites want to keep their customers, and your reviews can help them gauge what they’re doing well (like freerolls) and what they can do better (like more freerolls). You can also contact their customer service department or take to social media to let these rooms know how you feel.
Something to Remember
Playing for free is playing for fun. Remember to keep focused, don’t get too worked up, and enjoy!
Author: Cliff Spiller
Copyright: 2024 uspokersites.us
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually just by signing up for a new account at any online poker room. Most poker sites offer regular daily, weekly and monthly freerolls for new players or players who have made a deposit recently. ACR Poker offers freerolls for all players every day of the week.
You can navigate to the “Tournaments” tab in any poker site lobby. Choose ‘Freeroll’ from the ‘Buy-in’ filter to see all the free tournaments scheduled for that day.
At some poker sites, you’ll need a password to enter a free poker tournament. Typically, these are exclusive freerolls for players with a certain amount of player points or for players who have signed up for an account via an affiliate site. As long as you’ve qualified with the required points or created your account via the affiliate site, the freeroll password will be emailed to your poker account.