[Thinkerbell]

I'm sorta new at online poker. What does the term "freeroll" mean?

[Acorn89]

There are 2 meaning to it. One would be like a freeroll tournament, which has no entry fee, or its "free". The other one would be in a poker hand when one player has a chance to win, but the other player can only tie. For example say in holdem, player 1 had and player 2 had and then the flop came down Player one would be "freerolling" because if another dimond comes he would win the hand but if a dimond didn't come they would split the pot. Freerolling is also in High Low split games, where a player has the nut low, but can scoop if they make a good high.

[Lytspeed]

Freerolling is not just a term associated with online poker. In live tournaments, a player can "freeroll" as well, if a sponsor pays his or her entry fee into the tournament.

[Thinkerbell]

Thanks for the enlightenment!

[Arjonius]

Freerolling is a situation where you can win but can't lose, either because you didn't pay anything (like a freeroll tournament) or because the situation in a hand is such that you can't lose.

The hi-lo situation stated is not quite accurate. Usually, when you have the nut low, it's still possible for someone else to tie you (or they may already have you tied). In the case of a tie, assuming you don't win the high hand, you get quartered (you win a quarter of the pot). This can result in losing money (if your bets were more than a quarter of the pot), so in a strict sense, you're not freerolling.

A better example would be something like an NLH hand where you have Ad Ah, your opponent has the black aces, and the flop comes three hearts or three diamonds. In this case, you can still win the hand, but cannot lose, so you're freerolling on the turn and river.