It’s always fun to play free online poker games against other players since you’re not risking any real money, and it’s an entertaining way to pass the time. But even with this being said, many players get the itch to play real money poker games eventually, which means they’ll need a bankroll to get started.
The most obvious way to start a poker bankroll is by depositing money into a site. However, you can also go the freerolls route as well, which gives you an opportunity to win money for free! There are pros and cons to each method for starting a poker bankroll, and we’ll cover them below.
Making a Deposit
By depositing money into a poker site right away, you can jump into the real money action without messing with freerolls. Furthermore, you can put your focus on learning poker strategy and attempting to get better at the game. But you also have to consider the fact that you’re putting your own money on the line, and this money could easily be lost within a few days.
Assuming you aren’t willing to dedicate enough time to learning poker strategy and bankroll management, it’s generally recommended that you focus on freerolls in the beginning. However, if you are a disciplined player and you know some poker strategy, then making a deposit will allow you to get right into the real money games.
Playing Freerolls
The alternative to making a deposit is playing in freeroll poker tournaments. Freerolls don’t charge players any money to play, so all winnings are considered profit. However, you should also consider that, because freerolls don’t charge a buy-in, lots of people like to play them. And this leads to the dilemma of overcrowded tournaments with small prize pools.
To put all of this into perspective, you’ll be wasting a lot of time playing freeroll poker tournaments since the fields are so crowded. And no matter how good you are, online poker does involve variance so more players means less of a chance of cashing.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide if you want to put the time into freerolls when building a bankroll, or if you’ve got enough money to skip right to a deposit.