On the surface, it doesn't really seem like there's anything wrong with playing in a poker freeroll. After all, freerolls offer real money to players, and the best part is that there's absolutely no entry fee involved. But as the old saying goes, 'Nothing in life is free.' This is even true of poker freerolls, and we'll explain why below.

Dealing with Crowds

Seeing as how free poker tournaments don't require a buy-in, there are usually lots of interested parties. And this creates some really large field sizes as players come looking to win free money. For example, you might see 3,000 or 4,000 players entered into a measly $100 freeroll. Now one might say that it's still free money, regardless of how many players are involved. However, what you need to consider is that it'll be very hard to cash in such a big tournament - no matter how good you are. 

How Much is your Time worth?

Because the ratio of players to prize money is so badly skewed in freerolls, you're chances of making money in these tournaments is very small. And even for the rare times where you do cash in freerolls, the prize money usually isn't significant enough to cover all the time spent getting there. So what's really at stake in a freeroll is your time. If you continue playing in free tournaments where the prize money is low, you're paying a huge cost in terms of time.

Deposit...but don't give up on Freerolls

While there are plenty of stories of successful players who began with freerolls, the average player will be better off making a real money deposit and starting in low stakes. The reason why is because their chances of winning money is better in real money games (provided one is skilled enough), and playing for cash motivates you more to study strategy.

Of course, this isn't to say that freerolls have absolutely not value whatsoever. There are plenty of exclusive depositors' and VIP freerolls that limit the field sizes and offer big money. So we highly encourage you to participate in free tournaments when the situation is favorable. However, don't get caught up in spending massive amounts of time trying to win money in open-entry freerolls.