- Freerolls are free-to-play poker tournaments, meaning you won’t be charged any entry/buy-in fee. If you don’t quite yet have the confidence to start playing real-money poker online seriously but would like to dip your toes in the water, here are some other freerolls we have available on Natural8.
- Freeroll (Noun) A situation where a player is guaranteed a tie but can still win. We both had straights, but Jill had a flush draw: she was on a freeroll.
To put it as simply as I can, an online poker freeroll is a no buy-in poker tournament that’s free to play, but offers a real money (or equivalent) prize.
In poker, freeroll has two distinct meanings. The first applies to the play of a single hand and the other describes an entire poker tournament. In this article on online poker freeroll will just be looking a the meaning which applies to the play of a single hand.
So what is online poker freeroll hand?
It is when you are playing a particular hand of poker a freeroll is a situation that will arise (often when only 2 players are left in the game) and before the last card has been dealt. This is a game in which one player is guaranteed to at least split the pot with his opponent no matter what the final cards are. But there is also a chance that he can win the whole pot if the final cards are dealt in a certain way. Often this mostly occurs during a high-low split game. This is when one player knows that he is guaranteed a low hand and that his opponent will not be able to make a better low no matter what card is dealt. But this same player who is low might also possibly catch a lucky card which gives him a straight or flush which means he can win high as well.
Also a player who knows he has a freeroll can raise the pot with impunity and so very often a less skilled opponent who feels he has a good hand but does not realize that he is on the wrong end of a freeroll will continue to raise. Unfortunately for him there will be no chance of any possible gain at the end of the hand.
In the poker game of Hold’em it is possible for you to know you have a freeroll without actually seeing your opponent’s cards. If after the turn of the board you find you have two aces and two kings (all of separate suits) and you hold the AK then you are guaranteed a split at minimum. However if you find that there is a possibility of getting four of a kind (nuts) then you are guaranteed the winning hand if an ace of king should come out next.
So as you can see online poker freeroll can be an interesting game and may be should investigate a little further and see what the various online casino’s and poker rooms have to offer.
Freeroll Meaning
From Wikipedia
Negative freeroll is a term used in poker. It refers to a situation, usually occurring in no-limit or pot-limit when contemplating an all-in wager, where the player acting first checks in a situation where they would be forced to call an opponent's final bet (due to pot odds and the strength of their holding). If the opponent has a stronger hand, the opponent will most likely bet and the player will call and lose all their money regardless. However if the opponent has a weaker hand, betting may be the only way to get the opponent's money into the pot, as checking allows the opponent the opportunity to check in turn.
Negative freeroll is relatively common in low stakes amateur play, but in higher stakes play allowing a negative freeroll on the final round of betting is a serious blunder.
Hypothetical example
Freeroll Meaning Synonym
In a game of no-limit Texas hold'em, in heads up play on the river with an $8000 pot, both players have $2000 remaining behind. The board is 5♠ 6♠ 9♣ 9♠ Q♣. If the player acting first holds 6♦ 9♦ they must bet to avoid negative freeroll even though they are losing to an opponent holding 7♠ 8♠, a pair of Queens, or the 9♥ with a Queen. In this case the higher holdings will almost certainly bet and the player will be compelled to call due to pot odds and hand strength, while lesser holdings such as a lesser full house, a flush, or a straight that would have called the bet may simply check to see the hand down. Furthermore, with only $2000 remaining to bet in a $8000 pot, checking to induce a bluff is unlikely to succeed against competent opponents.
Texas Holdem Freerolls For Cash
Further reading
Freeroll Meaning Slang
Harrington, Dan; Robertie, Bill (2006). Harrington on Hold'em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments; Volume III: The Workbook. Two Plus Two Publishing, pp. 41-56. ISBN 1-880685-36-1.