First we have to take a look at what a freeroll tournament actually is. A freeroll is a poker tournament without any buy-in, in other words, it's free. Sometimes you have to use some sort of player points, which are accumulated when playing in an online poker room, but you never have to make a real-money buy-in.

Despite this, there are always a real-money prize pools in these tournaments, so you can enter without risk and at the same time get the chance to fatten your bankroll.

Obviously, freerolls serve a perfect opportunity for those who want to play poker in real-money games, but don't have any - or limited - money to spend.

 

Early Stages

Since freerolls are free, you can't adapt the same strategy as you would in a regular poker tournament. In freerolls, players don't fear elimination and therefore many participants play recklessly - especially in the early stages of the tournament. Many players think: "I haven't put any money in, so it doesn't really matter if I'm eliminated." In the beginning, you never want to get involved in pots without a really strong hand, especially not from early position. Too many players just shove their chips into the middle.

Say that you raise with a hand like KJ under the gun, and three players push all in, you are forced to fold. The raise was simply a waste. And this will happen over and over again if you raise with semi-strong hands in the beginning of freeroll tournaments.

Instead you should stick to playing the absolute top-notch hands, which you can call an all-in with, or at least call a substantial rise.

Sometimes you can play weaker hands from late position - suited connectors and small pairs that can hit the flop really hard. Since players love to push their chips around, there's a good chance that you'll get paid off if you flop a set, straight or flush.

 

Later Stages

In later stages of freeroll tournaments, you can loosen up your game considerably. Players who enter these tournaments usually don't have large bankrolls, so when they start smelling money, they often play much tighter. This is obviously something you should take advantage of. Now the freeroll starts to get the characteristics of a real poker tournament. You can steal blinds from late position, bluff and semi-bluff.

The pay-out structure in freerolls is often very steep, so you want to reach the top positions. When you're "in the money," start playing aggressively. There isn't a problem with ending up in coin-flip situations. The pay off is high if the coin toss is in your favor.

 

Find the Best Freeroll Tournaments

If you wish to test your poker skills in a freeroll tournament, Casino Guide offers a continuously updated Freeroll Tournament Schedule. We guide you to the biggest prize pools and you don't have to look through all poker rooms to find them. We do it for you.