The dream of many online poker players is to win a big pile of money. Things even become interesting when you don’t have to pay any money to join a cash game or tournament. And a question that regularly comes my way is about the poker sites that offer the best freerolls.

We automatically exclude from our calculations any freerolls that are essentially a waste of time for players in each category (which is why many sites offer less value for higher category players). That is, if you typically play $50 buy-in tournaments, we hardly expect you to be interested in playing freerolls valued at less than $1! Poker Freerolls vs. Free Poker Sites. The poker freeroll tournaments organized by poker rooms are significantly different than free poker sites. On first preview, there’s one main trait which might confuse you. After all, neither the poker freerolls nor the free poker sites. There is no catch, although some poker sites forbid you to cash out while not having met the wagering requirements. That means, sometimes you got turnover a part of the money you won in a freeroll: E.g, you got pay 15% of your winnings in rake at real money games before being eligible for a cash out. PokerStars still hosts several freerolls throughout the day. Some sites in New Jersey and Nevada have freerolls peppered throughout their schedules. Lots of offshore sites have stopped offering them since demand was so high it would sometimes crash their servers. Euro Nooner Freerolls with $200-300 prizes These are the showcase freerolls at BetOnline with, by far, the largest open-to-all prizes of the day. Euro Nooner freerolls at BetOnline belong to a separate.

888poker, GGPoker, PartyPoker, Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker, Unibet, Bovada, Intertops Poker, and Grand Poker are the best poker sites for freerolls.

The problem with freerolls is that many poker sites offer freerolls that aren’t worth your time. And there are so many poker sites out there that it becomes very difficult and stressful for one to scan through all their freeroll offerings.

I’ve been playing poker, both live and online, professionally for over a decade. During this time, I’ve discovered several quality freerolls poker sites. There are some poker sites that offer awful freerolls intending to get people to download their software.

There are also sites where players have to play for a very long time before they qualify for the freeroll. And not a lot of people have the time to play for long periods. As you can see, there are many freeroll tournaments with little or no value out there.

Fortunately for you, I’ve played at and researched several reputable freeroll sites over the years. So in this article, you’ll find poker sites that offer freerolls with good value and without any requirements.

What Are Poker Freerolls?

Poker freerolls are tournaments that cost you nothing to enter. There are no buy-in and entry fees that players typically pay when they want to compete in conventional poker tournaments. Also, buy-ins are pooled together, serve as the prize while the entry fees serve as commission in normal tourneys.

In a freeroll tournament, the poker site ponies up the entire prize pool. Players pay nothing. They just have to register and play. If they end up among the top players, they go home with something.

Freerolls uses the same format that many expensive tourneys use. A freeroll tournament comprises of several levels, has ante bets as well as increasing blinds. And a predetermined number of players are rewarded at the end of the tourney. Read more here on the typical payout structure for a poker tournament.

Beginners are generally encouraged to play freerolls as they strive to master the game. And the reasons for this are clear. For one, freerolls cost nothing to participate so they aren’t risking anything. And should they end up among the top players, they go home with a prize. I must mention that the prize pools of freerolls aren’t massive or life-changing.

You’ll see different freeroll events when you open a poker site. Most of the events are available to all players while you’ll need a password to participate in some events. There are also exclusive freerolls that are open to only VIP players who have accumulated a certain amount of points.

Pros and Cons of Freeroll Poker Tournaments

Before I dive into the best poker sites for freerolls, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these poker games. By now, you should be able to mention a few pros of freerolls. Freerolls are played by several poker players (hundreds or even thousands of them, actually) every week making it one of the most popular formats of poker tournaments.

Some players test their new strategies in freerolls as they aren’t risking any money. Others just want to take advantage of the fact that they don’t have to pay a buy-in to play a poker tourney. It’s also common to see professional players participating in tourneys. And the reason for this is for them to familiarize themselves with the software of a poker site they are using for the first time.

Pros

• Free to play, no buy-in or entry fees.
• Mostly dominated by beginners and low-skilled players.
• Great for learning different versions/variants of poker.
• Great for trying new poker strategies.

Cons

• The prize pool is usually small but hey, you aren’t paying anything to play.
• Freerolls are usually unpredictable due to the high number of amateur and beginner players.
• Some freerolls are password-protected events or exclusive to VIP players.
• Variants of poker available are usually limited.

Best Poker Sites With Freerolls

How Poker Freerolls Work

Before you go to a poker site and register for your first ever freeroll, it’s important you completely understand how freerolls work. Knowledge is the most important thing when it comes to poker. By knowing what you are getting into, you’ll be spared from any last-minute surprises.

• The Prize – This one is pretty obvious. The prize is the reward/winnings to be shared among a certain number of players at the end of the tourney. Most poker sites offer real money as prizes but tickets to other events, swag like caps, shirts, and special poker bonuses also serve as the prizes at times.
  While it’s common to share the prize pool among a number of players, there are times when everything goes to only one player – the winner of the tournament. Be sure to find out how the prize pool of a tourney will be shared before entering.
  
• The Stack – You get a stack of chips at the beginning of the tournament. This is poker and you definitely need chips to bet. You should properly manage your chips as you get eliminated when you exhaust them.
  
• The Gameplay and Structure – A freeroll has the same gameplay as any other regular poker tournament. This is why freerolls are recommended for beginners to sharpen their skills or test new strategies. The structure is also the same as regular poker tourneys – blinds increase, there is an ante, and so on.
  
• Additional Info – A poker freeroll may have its own set of rules in terms of the time of play, bounties given to players when they make a predefined action, split of the prize, and so on.

Can You Really Win Money?

I just felt like I have to address this in a separate heading, There are people skeptical about poker freerolls. Well, don’t be a doubting Thomas. Poker freerolls are very real and you get to win real money or other prizes. However, I’m not talking about life-changing money here. The highest prize pool you can get from no deposit freeroll sites isn’t usually more than $200. You may be able to enter freerolls with higher prize pools if you may certain conditions, say you make a deposit. And the prize pool here is usually not more than $1000.

Now, $1000 is a very decent amount of money. But I wouldn’t tag it as life-changing. So, forget about freerolls if you are looking for that one shot to change your life forever.

The purpose of freerolls is for poker sites to attract new members. Poker players take advantage of the fact that it costs nothing to redefine their game.

Your prize typically appears in your account as soon as the tourney ends and you can withdraw using any of the site’s withdrawal methods.

Are Freeroll Tournaments Really Free?

Yet, another commonly asked question about freerolls. Freerolls are free. And this means you don’t have to pay an entry fee to participate and you still get to win some sort of prizes if you end up among the top players. There are no hidden fees/charges or any nasty surprises.

If there is any fee attached to a poker tournament, then it is no longer a freeroll.

You already know that the prize pool is typically between two to three figures. It’s common to see beginners participating in real money freerolls. More experienced players usually play in qualifier satellite events where they compete to win tickets to enter other tournaments.

Types of Freerolls

It may surprise you that many popular and successful poker players started their poker career with freerolls. Like I said earlier, poker sites use freerolls to attract new players and introduce as many players as possible to the beautiful game of poker. In fact, most online players have participated in freerolls at some point.

There are several types of poker freerolls. Some are available only to new players and are meant to help you familiarize yourself with the poker site before playing with real money. There’s a more common type of freeroll that’s only available after you’ve made your first deposit on the poker site. The prize pool of this type of freeroll is typically larger.

It’s common to see poker sites using freerolls as the first step in the satellite process. Satellites are a popular way for poker players to win their way into big buy-in tournaments without having to pay the full entry fee.

Below are the several types of poker freerolls.

Exclusive Freerolls

The word ‘exclusive’ should tell you all you need to know about this type of freerolls. They are only available to a small set of players. These players must meet certain requirements that are specified by the poker sites running the tournament.

Poker sites usually make exclusive freerolls as ‘password-protected’ events. This way, only players in possession of the right password can enter the tournaments. Passwords are sent to players after meeting the requirements.

Weekly Freerolls

This is one of the most popular types of freerolls. Weekly freerolls are scheduled to take place every week at a fixed day and time. Prizes include real money, tournament tickets, and so on..

New Players Freerolls

This type of freeroll is aimed at beginners. Only players that have just registered on a poker website can register and play in these freerolls.

Satellite Freerolls

As explained above, you win tickets to other tournaments here. You get to play in a tournament with otherwise big buy-ins for free.

Poker Freeroll Passwords and Schedule

There are so many poker freerolls out there that keeping track of them can be a real nightmare. You have to know that you can’t participate in every poker freeroll out there. Go through some of the sites above and choose a couple of poker sites. For the daily freerolls, you just have to know the time the freerolls begin. You can mark the days of week freerolls on your calendar.

Best Poker Freeroll Sites With No Deposits

There are so many poker sites that offer quality freerolls out there making it a bit tricky for me to come up with the top 10, haha. However, I’ve played at the poker sites I’ll be talking about and I’m certain of the quality of their freerolls.

Now, some poker sites require you to make a deposit before entering a freeroll tournament. The freeroll tournament remains free of course but you won’t be able to participate without funding your account. As a result, I’ll be including sites that offer no-deposit freerolls in this list.

888poker

888poker doesn’t need any introduction from me. Unless you are new to poker or the online version of it, you’d have heard of 888poker. This poker operator offers many poker freerolls with my top 5 being $20 SNAP Free Tournament, $1000 Depositors Freeroll, $500 First Depositor Freeroll, Level Up Freeroll, and Level 20+ Freeroll.

The $20 SNAP free tournament is open to all players and the prize pool is $20 as the name suggests. This freeroll is usually available multiple times a day. The $1000 depositor freeroll requires you to complete a deposit on the site in the past week. The freeroll is still completely free to play but you can only enter if you’ve completed a deposit on the website in the past week. It’s available twice every Saturday.

The $500 freeroll’s schedule varies but is usually available once each day. Only people who have completed their first deposits on the site are eligible for this freeroll. Both the level up freeroll and the level 20+ freeroll are available to only VIP members.

As you can see, 888poker has freerolls for new players, existing players, and VIP players. And their software and app are of the highest quality. Their app is available on several platforms and is easy to use and operate.

GGPoker

This is another poker operator that offers great freerolls. GGPoker has some freerolls that come with no restrictions. There is the $50 freeroll that is open to all members and takes place daily. The Mini Satellite freeroll is also open to everybody but the reward is a ticket for a future event. Accumulating these tickets will give you access to other events like the Step to WSOP freeroll which has a prize pool of $21.60.

I love the $200 freeroll which is usually available every day about one hour before it starts. There’s also a VIP freeroll that takes place multiple times a week.

As you can see, GGPoker has a regular schedule of freerolls and you can keep practicing and sharpening your poker skills. The poker operator also had several mouth-watering bonuses for players. And both their apps and software are top-notch.

PartyPoker

The main catch here is the $200 freeroll which available every day. And $200 is a decent amount of money considering the tournament has no buy-in or entry fee. This particular freeroll requires no deposit and is available for entry an hour before the event starts.

There’s also the $2.20 Mini Satellite Ticket freeroll which is open to the public. The prize pool for this went are tickets for future events. There are also freerolls for regular and VIP players too.

Americas Cardroom and Black Chip Poker

Americas Cardroom and Black Chip Poker are two different poker sites but they have very similar freerolls. This is why I decided to discuss the two poker sites under one subheading.

Both Americas Cardroom and Black Chip Poker offer a $10 real money free approximately every hour. This means they offer over 20 $10-freeroll tournaments per day. As you can see, the frequency of the freerolls is the reason why the prize pool isn’t very large.

These two poker sites also host on-demand freerolls which start as soon as 270 players register. Think of this freeroll as a multi-table Sit & Go tournament. Now, the thing is that on-demand freerolls don’t have a specific start time. The tourney starts as soon as 270 players have registered.

A new on-demand freeroll is posted immediately after the registration of the previous one has closed. You can play as many on-demand freerolls as you want without depositing any money.

You also accumulate points as you win money in on-demand freerolls. These points will be used to rank players on the weekly freeroll leaderboard. The top ten players get a $55 tournament ticket while the winner receives a $215 tournament ticket.

Unibet

Unibet is another excellent site for no-deposit freerolls. The poker operator schedules their freerolls to occur every two hours which means 12 freerolls take place daily. The first freeroll of the day usually starts at 2:05 am EST. The prize pool of the freerolls is not the same. Some have €25 as the prize pool, while others have €30 and €100.

There’s a perk here that I like a lot. And that’s the fact that Unibet rewards you $0.02 for every opponent you eliminate. This amount may seem small but the thing is that you can use them to buy into semi-freerolls tournaments where the buy-in is small (€0.01 or €0.10)

Bovada

Bovada gives you the chance to play and enjoy poker completely free. There’s even the opportunity to get a free poker bankroll when you win their freerolls. Bovada is us-friendly meaning players from the USA will have no problem with the website.

Typically, three no deposit freerolls take place every day. You register and then enter a freeroll. As simple as ABC.

All three freerolls have a $20 prize pool.

Intertops Poker

Intertops Poker offers five freerolls events every day from Monday to Friday. The events take place at 7:00 am, 11:30 am, 3:00 pm, 7:30 pm, and 1:30 am ET. The 3:00 pm and 1:30 pm events are usually referred to as ‘daily workhorse’ and they have prize pools of $15. The 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. events feature PLO gameplay, have prize pools of $10, and are known as “Racetrack.”

The top three players of each event are the ones that get the prize. However, any player that finishes fourth gets a $1 ticket to a $100 event which runs twice daily at 10:15 a.m and 10:15 p.m. Another freeroll tourney with a prize pool of $50 also takes every Saturday. As you can see, there’s no shortage of freerolls on Intertops Poker.

You can gain access to the monthly $1,000 Depositors Freeroll if you decide to make a deposit.

Grand Poker

You can find a $100 freeroll tourney at Grand Poker every Saturday. The fact that a few dozen players win the prize is one of the reasons why I like Grand Poker. Another reason why I like this particular freeroll is that you won’t usually find a lot of people participating in this tourney. You’ll hardly see more than 500 people participating in this event. This means you have a better chance of winning something. 500 may seem a lot to you but the number could have been a lot higher considering it costs nothing to play. Even some online poker tourneys that have buy-in and entry fees usually have more than 500 participants.

Grand Poker also has a daily freeroll but the prize pool here is only $10. If you are able to build a small bankroll on the site, you can then participate in regular tourneys that have no house fees. These tourneys are spread from $1.50 + $0 to $5 + $0 every day of the week. While this may be distasteful to high rollers, they are perfect for players on smaller bankrolls.

Tips to win a poker freeroll

Play very tight in the early stages

Freeroll players are usually more willing to gamble in the early stages to secure a monster stack. After all, they aren’t paying a dime to participate in the tournament. So in the early stages of a free, know that tight is right.

Make sure you play strong hands when the blinds are low and play weak hands later in the tournament to steal more blinds.

Avoid Early All-Ins

It’s common to see several players calling all-in during the early stages of a freeroll. This alone is enough to make you go on tilt. You must remain calm and patient during the early stages and only call all-in when you have the nut or very strong holdings. You can decide to go all-in if you have a read on the other player.

Don’t Contract FPS

FPS here means fancy play syndrome and this occurs when a player attempts to make smart moves against players that aren’t wise enough to spot when they’re beaten. ANd this is something you should avoid in freerolls. Why? This is because freeroll players generally call bets since they aren’t risking their money. You trying to bet 100 chips as a bluff with the intention of winning 30 chips isn’t a very smart move. Your opponents will most likely call your bets.

You have to be very conservative if you want to be successful in poker freerolls.

Treat Your Chips Like Gold

The value of your chips in any poker tournament is in gold, more so in freerolls. Don’t overplay your hand and don’t over-commit chips either. You are out of the tournament the moment you exhaust your chips. So, you should always avoid betting more chips than is necessary.

Changing Gears: The Middle Stages of a Freeroll

Your approach has to change as you reach the middle stages of a freeroll. It’s common to see people lose their cool and abandon their strategies at this stage as the money is already in sight. You have to be a bit more aggressive without losing your head. Try to conserve the chips you have while trying to get more to add to your stack. Bet confidently when you have fairly strong holdings like top pair.

Beating the Bubble

The time for bluffing has come. The money is so close at this stage and players are afraid of throwing away all the effort they’ve put into the game. Pressure players with short stacks, especially if they won’t play a hand. This most likely means that they have weak hands.

Try to bluff at every opportunity you get. And you’ll find yourself in the money at the end of the day.

As many freeroll tournaments have turbo structure (how fast blinds icnrease), it makes sense you read a perfect guide on how to properly play turbo tournaments.

Whether you’re new to poker or simply new to playing poker online, No Deposit Poker offers a chance to get your first online hands in for no money out of your own pocket.

While you can always play for free on any poker site in play-money games, most online poker sites also give you credit to play in real money online poker games just for signing up.

This is known as “No Deposit” Poker. While it’s usually not a ton of money (typically up to $25 or $30), and it can’t be cashed out right away, a no deposit poker bonus makes it easy to play for fun in actual, competitive poker games and start building your online bankroll.

All you have to do to claim it is set up a new account, create a username, and start playing.

No Deposit Poker Bonus Codes

Where can you play no deposit poker in the US?

As of 2021, there are five states that currently offer legal, real-money poker sites to US players:

At ;east one more state has passed regulation to license and legalize online poker but has yet to launch any real money sites:

While the amount of real money poker sites available in each state varies (NJ has the most options, for example), most if not all poker sites offer no deposit poker for new players.

No Deposit Bonus Poker Sites

Whichever your state, use the links in the table above to claim your no-deposit poker bonus. After downloading the online poker software, you can then create your account.

This is where you enter your “Bonus Code” (see table above) to secure your no deposit bonus. After signup, the bonus is instantly credited to your account. You can then hit the tables and get started.

If you want to play no deposit poker outside of the above states, see our Global Poker section below.

WSOP.com (NJ, NV) – $10 free

This is the online poker arm of the famed World Series of Poker. WSOP.com offers online poker to players in Nevada (where it’s the only operator in the market) and New Jersey.

The WSOP partners with 888poker in the US for its software platform. 888 is a respected international online poker operator and a regular sponsor of the WSOP in Las Vegas.

WSOP.com offers the only shared player pool in the US among Nevada and New Jersey, and with 888 in Delaware. This makes for larger prize pools and player pools in most events, which makes it the regular revenue leader in New Jersey.

WSOP.com gives you a free $10 no deposit bonus simply for signing up. This makes it easy to play low-budget cash games, tournaments, sit & go’s, and other events.

That 10 bucks may not seem like a lot, but there are cash games that start at only pennies and low roller tournaments and sit & go’s for that as well. Those who decide to play for even more will also find an extra bonus of 100% match up to $1,000 on your first deposit.

If you prefer taking your poker on the road, WSOP.com also has a nice real money poker app for your phone. The free $10 No Deposit Bonus is also available to app users so it’s easy to jump right in the action and test drive what’s on offer.

888poker (NJ, DE) – $20 free

888poker offers online poker in New Jersey as a partner with WSOP.com, but also offers all online poker in the state of Delaware. 888 players also benefit from being part of the New Jersey/Nevada/Delaware interstate player compact with WSOP.

As for a no-deposit bonus, new players get $20 free to play real money casino games and poker tournaments. Here’s how that cash is distributed:

• $10 in free play for select casino games on 888 Casino.
• A credit of $4 worth in bonus money that can be used at 888poker or 888 Casino.
• Six 888poker tournament tickets with a value of $1 each.

If you want to deposit into your account for further play you can also claim a 100% match bonus up to $1,500.

partypoker (NJ) – $25 free

This is another excellent option for players in New Jersey offering a $25 No Deposit Bonus for players simply signing up. That can go a long way for players looking to play some cards on house money.

partypoker is one of the best platforms in the world and partners with MGM’s Borgata casino in Atlantic City. The additional skins BorgataPoker.com and BetMGM Poker also make use of partypoker software and all three share the same group of players.

You can receive your $25 in a few different ways. This makes for a nice way to play some of what partypoker has to offer including:

• $10 in poker cash
• $5 free for use in partypoker tournaments
• $10 free for use in the party casino

Players simply have to set up and account to earn that free money. The partypoker app also offers a great playing experience, and the company has worked to make it an even better option since 2019.

Beyond the free money option, those looking to fund their account will find another nice deposit match bonus of 100% up to $600.

PokerStars (NJ, PA, MI) – $30 free play (on deposit)

When you’re the most recognized and popular online poker site in the world, a no deposit bonus isn’t in the cards. But you can get $30 in free play for a minimal deposit.

Known for its world-class software and massive tournaments, PokerStars now offers real-money online poker in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. As of January 2021, it’s the only poker site in PA and MI, but that should change shortly when partypoker launches. In the US, all of NJ, PA and MI are still “fenced-in” markets, which means players can only play against others located in that state – not against a national or international player pool (yet).

That being said, you’ll find many similar series and promotions that you’d find on the international PokerStars platform, only geared toward each state. Both have proven popular so far and offer access to big tournament series such as the NJ/PA Championships of Online Poker and the Bounty Builder Series.

Players won’t find a completely free no deposit bonus for poker, but a pretty solid deal nonetheless. For a deposit of $20, players get $30 in free play. Or, on that first deposit players can also choose a 100% match bonus up to $600 instead.

The $30 free play bonus includes:

• $20 Bonus Money
• $10 in Spin & Go tickets
• Free entry into a $5,000 depositor freeroll
• 1 million in Play-Money chips

BorgataPoker.com (NJ) – $20 free

The online site of one of Atlantic City’s most renowned poker rooms, Borgata Poker online is a partypoker skin that offers another nice no deposit bonus – simply set up your account and earn a free $20.

As they share software, you’ll find the same excellent and newly revised table layout you’d find on partypoker NJ plus the same cash game and tournament selection.

Your no deposit bonus comes in the form of:

• $10 in cash
• $10 poker bonus

If you choose to go on and make a deposit you’ll get a 100% match bonus up to $600.

Players at BorgataPoker.com will find some nice daily and weekly events as well as major tournament series. That includes chances to qualify at the property’s regular live tournament events – some of the best in the country.

BetMGM Poker (NJ) – $25 free

Another partypoker skin, this platform also uses the same software and player pool. It also offers the chance to earn another nice no deposit bonus.

Set up an account and take the free $25 to jump on a table and do some betting and bluffing. No big requirements here; just use this link and get started playing with your free cash.

If you decide to actually make an additional deposit, you’ll get a 100% match bonus up to $1,000.

Global Poker No Purchase Bonus (All US except WA & Canada except Quebec)

This is a unique Sweeps Coin poker site available to players in the US (excl. WA) and Canada (excl. Que). Similar to a social casino gaming site, players can play for a free with a virtual currency called Gold Coins (GC).

Those who purchase more Gold Coins receive Sweeps Coins (SC) as a bonus. These can also be used in separate tournaments and ring games and ultimately be redeemed for cash prizes and gift cards.

Global Poker is a great promotional sweepstakes poker option with a $20 Gold Coin no purchase package for you to get started and try the platform out.

Free Poker vs No Deposit Poker

No deposit poker is a great way to jump in to your first action online. These bonuses are indeed real money and can be a great jumpstart to having a proper poker bankroll you can use to play progressively bigger stakes.

That’s certainly not required however – you can play at the lowest stakes (literally pennies) for as long as you want to. Legal poker sites also offer the chance to simply play for virtual currency (play money), too, although the game is decidedly different strategically than real money poker.

Regardless, through both you can see how the site functions, get used to the speed of the online game and work on your own strategy weak spots.

Playing at a legal, regulated online poker site in the US is the same as playing at a live poker table at a casino. They offer safety and security and must meet strict gaming regulations like traditional casinos. Read more about safe and secure online poker sites.

Beyond the traditional poker software client, playing for real money on poker apps is also an option.

These are not to be confused with other social gaming and similar play money apps. These don’t offer a real-money option and playing poker is much different when not playing for real money. You’ll find traditional real-money online poker is much closer to what you might experience in a real casino card room.

Traditional online poker sites in the US offer players a virtual game as well as the ability to play for real money in major tournaments and cash games.

New Player Freerolls to Build a Poker Bankroll

Another great way to build a bankroll on an online poker site is to make use of freerolls. These are free tournaments to enter where the poker site puts up a real money prize pool.

Freeroll Poker For Real Money

There is no tournament fee and you can earn real money if you win or make it into the money spots. Many sites offer new players exclusive freerolls in addition to no deposit bonuses.

Freerolls are another nice option to make some money on a poker site without having to make a deposit. Additionally, these tournaments aren’t solely for new players and many sites use them as promotions.

No Deposit Bonus vs. Welcome Bonus

Most poker sites offer all new players a Welcome Bonus. This shouldn’t be confused with a no deposit bonus.

A welcome bonus, also sometimes referred to as a match bonus, applies to players who make an initial deposit. Some of these bonuses can be for up to $1,500 and make for a great way to get started on a real-money online poker site if you intend to play a lot of poker. Meeting the clearing requirements for some welcome bonuses – particularly the largest amounts – will take some concentrated effort in a short period of time.

A no deposit bonus is just as the name implies. A new player only has to register an account and can play using these funds without even making a deposit. No deposit bonuses are the easier way to get started with online poker.

Play Free Poker on Your Phone

Online poker has exploded as a way to play poker for real money on a cell phone or tablet. Poker sites now tailor their product for mobile users as well as those using the traditional poker client.

All the traditional online poker sites mentioned here in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada and Delaware all offer nice poker apps. Those include:

• WSOP.com (NJ, NV)
• PokerStars (NJ, PA)
• 888poker (NJ)
• Partypoker (NJ)
• BorgataPoker.com (NJ)
• BetMGM (NJ)

Poker apps are easy to download for both iPhone and Android. You can still take advantage of no deposit bonuses as well as other deposit offers found here. You can expect to find all the games and events you’d find using a laptop including:

• Cash games
• Tournaments
• Sit & Go’s
• Major MTT series

If you try out a poker app you’ll find a platform built specifically for mobile play. Much of the play on a poker app can be done utilizing a single finger, which makes playing on the go very simple. Most features found on the desktop client are also available on the app.

For players not able to play traditional online poker on their phones, promotional sweepstakes poker sites like Global Poker also offer an opportunity. While Global doesn’t yet have a mobile app, the site uses a browser-based system that also works great on a cell phone or tablet.

No Deposit Poker FAQ

Are online No Deposit Poker bonuses really free?

Yes, poker sites offer these bonuses to USPoker readers to try out the site. Players can build a bankroll using these funds and ultimately cash them out for real money.

What games can I play with a No Deposit Bonus?

While these bonuses may be smaller than players would typically deposit, they do offer a chance to play for real money. Players can take advantage of cash games, tournaments, and sit & go’s.

You can find stakes for all bankrolls and can play for as low as $0.01/$0.02 at many sites. You’ll also find tournaments and sit & go’s available for around $1.

Some sites may offer the no deposit bonus as a simple credit to your account allowing you to play as you wish. Others may offer players specific tournament or sit & go tickets. These can be used to actually win real money and build a poker bankroll just like funds you can deposit on the site.

Can I claim a No Deposit Bonus and a Match Bonus?

Yes, a no deposit bonus is free money a player can use after simply creating an account at a site. There is no deposit required and you don’t have to fund an account.

Match Bonuses or Welcome Bonuses are funds credited to a player’s account after making a deposit. These can be hundreds of dollars and even thousands, and are a great benefit for players looking to make a deposit.

These may have requirements for “play-through” before these funds are released however. That means a player may need to play a certain number of hands or events to have some of that bonus released and credited to his account.

When can I withdraw my no deposit bonus?

Most winnings from these bonuses can be withdrawn as they are accumulated. These funds are real money as if the player had made a deposit.

What’s the catch with a No Deposit Bonus?

There’s no “catch” with these types of funds. They’re available to you to try out a regulated, legal online poker site for real money and see if it’s for you. It’s real money to play poker and it’s free. What could be better? You won’t be able to claim the bonus and then immediately cash it out, obviously, but that shouldn’t be classified as a “catch” per se. That’s simple common sense.

Where can I get a No Deposit bonus in the US?

Since 2011, after what’s known as “Black Friday,” the US has been limited to a state-by-state approach to legalizing online poker. Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have offered online poker since 2013.

Pennsylvania began offering online poker in 2019 and Michigan online poker launched its first poker site in 2021. West Virginia legalized online gaming including poker in 2019 but has yet to go live as of February 2021.

Those looking for some No Deposit Poker are in luck with a few sites in some of these legal states. It’s also important to note that while you have to be located within these states to play, you don’t have to be there to sign up for a No Deposit Bonus or even fund your account.

Some players see that No Deposit Bonus as a challenge – ie how long they can make it last as they try to build it up into an even bigger bonus. Here’s a look at a few popular sites where you can get in the games just for signing up.

If you’re interested in no deposit bonuses for online casino play, see our dedicated page here: