Poker Freerolls
Poker is a very popular card game consisting of many variations in the rules. Texas hold'em and Five-Card Draw are two of the most common types of poker. Before poker became a worldwide phenomenon, with televised, multi-million dollar tournaments, poker was played mostly by a group of male friends in one of their homes. A typical "guy's night out" consisted of beer and pizza while playing poker.
With the advent of the World Series of Poker in 1970, more people became interested in poker. When the Internet became a home for many online poker sites in the 1990s, people became fascinated. However, it was not until 2003, when the first World Series of Poker game was televised that poker became a full-blown phenomenon. Poker is a game with its own language and rules that a novice can have difficulty mastering, although many poker phrases have made it into our everyday banter. EXAMPLE: high roller
One poker phrase - freeroller, has two definitions. The first meaning has to do with a single hand of poker. In this case, when two players are left and with the final card to be dealt, the pot will be split between the two players, unless there are specific cards dealt. This will happen most often in a game of high-low split. When one player cannot improve his or her hand with the final card, but the other player can, it is said that the player with the chance to improve is freerolling. The player with the freeroll is allowed to raise the pot. Many times a novice player may think they have a good hand and not realize the other player is freerolling and raise their bet as well.
The more common use of the term freeroll is a poker tournament without an entry fee. While it sounds as though players are allowed to compete in the poker tournament without spending any money, some freeroll tournaments still require some form of payment to play. The poker tournament still needs to raise money for the prize pool, so many times they will charge admission fees for the viewers, receive money from a sponsor, or from the broadcast rights charges if the poker tournament is televised. Invitation only tournaments that are hosted by casinos for frequent players are also called freeroll tournaments.
Many Internet poker sites have freeroll tournaments as well. These freeroll poker tournaments usually require you to spend points you have earned in real money tournaments on the website. This practically negates the use of the term 'freeroll', but there are some legitimate opportunities to play freeroll tournaments online for absolutely no entry fee and the chance to win money. The Professional Poker Tour is a freeroll tournament where contestants qualify to play by their standings in prior poker tournaments. This tournaments prize pools are paid directly by the sponsors and the broadcasting station.
Many other tournaments are called freerolls as well. Casinos often have them for their frequent and valued players in games of blackjack, slots, and more. In the Las Vegas casinos of the 50s, many casinos would give away their guests a free roll of nickels when they checked in. The term "freeroll" is more than likely a reference to those days of free nickel rolls.