Free Poker Sites

Free poker sites allow players to have fun playing poker and let them learn how to play profitable poker in real poker games without the cost. Beginning poker players can find effective ways to play poker using free poker sites and experienced players can sharpen their poker skill sets utilizing free poker sites. While most online poker sites provide several poker tables that run using play money, some free poker sites offer a money free version of their poker room.

Logo	Poker Room	USA	Rating	Bonus Amount	Players
	BetOnline Poker			25% Instant Bonus	8,000+
	888 Poker			100% up to $600	20,000+
	PokerStars			100% up to $600	150,000+
	Party Poker			100% up to $500	32,000+
	BWIN Poker			100% up to $200	11,000+
	Winner Poker			250% to $1000	13,500+
	Juicy Stakes Poker			100% up to $1100	11,000+

This means players download a version of the poker site's software that does not provide access to real money tables. In addition to playing poker using play money, tons of poker sites provide freeroll tournaments, which are poker tournaments without a buy-in that pay out real money prizes.

How to Best Use Free Poker Sites
Regardless of whether you are playing for play money, or participating in freeroll tournaments, a free poker player is best served playing poker correctly, given the table conditions and nature of the players at the free poker tables. When playing free poker, it is easy to develop bad habits. Players should be careful to use tactics that are fundamentally and technically sound, yet are effective at their table. Playing in a sound manner will allow players at free poker sites to get their poker fix while reinforcing correct poker play, which will benefit poker players over the long haul. Once a player is comfortable playing at the tables of a free poker site, they can then consider playing for real money by making a deposit to the free poker site.

Freerolls at Free Poker Sites
Freerolls are simply poker tournaments that do not charge a buy-in. These freeroll tournaments allow players the opportunity to compete in a real poker tournament at no cost to them. The freeroll is often used for players to try out the software of a poker site that is new to them. Freeroll tournaments offered at free poker sites often provide a large field of players to compete against and feature extremely loose and wild play - especially in the early stages of these free tournaments.

While freerolls are a great way to try out a new poker room at no cost, there are several other purposes for freeroll tournaments. Freerolls are often used to reward poker players for their play at a poker site. Additionally, freerolls are offered by many poker sites to reward players for new deposits. Generally, the freerolls offered by free poker sites are open to all players, while the depositor's freerolls and VIP types of freerolls are open to those who meet certain criteria. The depositors and VIP freerolls typically contain far more money in their prize pool than the general purpose freerolls do. When new players become comfortable with playing the freerolls offered on free poker sites, they are well served depositing and trying to qualify for the freerolls more rich in prize pool.

Study Poker while Playing Free Poker Sites
Whether playing at the play money tables or participating in freeroll tournaments on free poker sites, players should strive to expand their knowledge and understanding of how to play poker. A player on a free poker site is well served in reading books based on poker strategy for tournaments and/or cash games, as well as reading articles written to explain or simplify concepts that are key to playing poker profitably.

When a player learns of a new poker concept, they should take their newfound knowledge and apply the concepts to the games they play on their free poker sites. This allows the player to experiment and become comfortable in trying out new tactics without having to "pay" tuition at real money tables. As players take on a deeper understanding of poker, the player will find his game evolving.

Naturally, in time the player will want to move off the free poker sites and try his hand at playing on a poker site for real money. Plenty of micro-stakes games are available for players to take a small step up from free poker sites to real poker sites without having to play at stakes that are too high too soon. Using free poker sites, a player can master the game of poker through freeroll tournaments and play money tables. Once the player improves, he can then step off playing free poker sites and into the realm of micro-stakes real money poker games and tournaments.