Not everyone can afford to make a deposit on an online poker site. With many people struggling to make ends meet, finding the disposable income to take a shot at online poker just doesn’t make sense for most people. For other people, there is a trust issue with online sites. They have heard horror stories about online poker and they have decided to not risk their own money at the tables. There is a solution. Many poker sites have options that allow you to play poker for free. Let’s take a look at a few sites and the options that they offer.
PokerStars has been advertising their play money site for years. You have probably seen the commercials with Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Rousso, and others. PokerStars play money site offers the same games as their regular site but without the risk. In order to play the games, just register for an account and you will start with $1,000 in play chips. If you lose them all, you can reload at any time. Both cash games and tournaments are offered on the play site. There are also regularly running free roll tournaments that players can enter that either pay entries into other tournaments or that pay a small percentage of the field real cash money. Granted, you may have to place in the top 50 out of a 10,000 player field, but if you make it, the money you win is real and can be used to play on real money games.
Full Tilt Poker also offers play money games on their site. The big difference with Full Tilt over PokerStars is that Full Tilt pros will actually play in the free games, giving everyone a chance to play against professional players. Erik Seidel has been known to play free game Holdem at different times. Full Tilt also offers free roll tournaments just like Poker Stars. In some cases, they even have free rolls for merchandise, such as a copy of Phil Gordon’s Final Table dvd. Chris Ferguson conducted a well publicized experiment a couple years ago where he tried to win $10,000 without ever making a deposit. Ferguson placed in a free roll event, and then slowly grew that money until he ultimately made his $10,000 goal. It is possible to grow a bankroll from nothing. You just have to play a ton of poker to do so.
Another option to play free money poker is Bwin.com. Bwin offers a user friendly interface and a sleek design that should be appealing to most any poker player. All of the games that are normally spread on Bwin are spread in its play money games. In addition to cash games, sit and go and multi-table tournaments are also available for free play. The selection of games on this site isn’t as plentiful as other sites, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of action. Unlike some sites, they don’t leave a bunch of games sitting empty. They list an available game, and if it fills, then a new game is listed. If you want to check the amount of action, just look at the number of games running and you will see that plenty of players call Bwin home. Also, Bwin offer players the ability to play poker from their web browser. If you do not want to clog your PC or Mac with another poker program, you don’t have to.
Another option to play poker for free that is for entertainment only is Zynga Poker on Facebook. Zynga Poker has the largest network of poker players outside of the major online poker sites. Millions of players are signed up for the site and over 100,000 players play in the games daily. The games are entirely free and for entertainment only. You cannot play any free rolls to earn real money. This site is a straight Facebook application, but it is a lot of fun. You can take the money you win at the tables and buy virtual prizes and upgrades for the game to help enhance the gaming experience. With that being said, don’t expect the competition here to be very serious. Really, why should it be? This is an extension of a social networking site. Go play poker and have fun.
Whether you are looking for a site to play at for fun or whether you are looking for a site to build a bankroll for free, the above sites are good starting points for your search. There are many sites online for you to choose and it is recommended that you put forth the effort and conduct your own searches. Try out several before you make your final decision. Then again, you may decide that you want to split your time among several. It is your prerogative to play where you want to play. So get out there and mix it up. Perhaps one day you will be the next free roll to Millionaire success story.
