I began to play poker and as a beginner I won a lot of things (it ever happens), so as more I learned more I lost. I really was concentrating all my energy on being a better player, but I was in a cicle with "Playing >> Losing >> Studying >> Playing...". After losing a lot of money and a lot of time a lot of times even having a reazonable knowledge about the game, I've decided in first place stoping to waste money, because of this I began to play freerolls (Free tournaments of poker). People that know freerolls are scared on playing them, they say that playing them is impossible because freeroll players use one of the most important weapons of poker: The agressivity, they are suicide agressive players level. But freerolls give to you for free the first trainning: The patience (it's a profit). The second thing is that you can earn real money without put money in the game, you earn cents most of times, when you earn off course, but is better than losing tens of dollars maybe hundreds, then my money began to reverse his flow. Now I play cheapper games but I am satisfied because I can hit my chest and say "I am a winner player".
It depends a lot on the user, for some it may be advantageous, but for others it may not be... I see three main advantages and disadvantages in freerolls:
Advantages- Practice without the risk of losing money. This is especially true for beginners who are not ready to risk their money and need to test their knowledge in practice first.
- Small winnings. As you said, it is possible to win something and use that money to play in tournaments with a low buy-in.
- First experience with poker. This is certainly not your scene, but freerolls are useful to help people start to familiarize themselves with poker, test combinations and put into practice the knowledge acquired over time.
Disadvantages- Lots of people, of all types. People like to get something for free, and participating in a poker tournament is no exception. That is why thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of people register for these events and they usually go all-in against you with any card because they have nothing to lose. In other words, there are no strategies or tactics here, so don't try to find logic in your opponents' decisions, it simply doesn't exist.
- Deterioration of playing skills. In such tournaments, you can get used to playing too tight or too aggressively, and this will negatively affect your game at the tables.
- Waste of time. One of the biggest disadvantages of freerolls is their length. Free tournaments are held for several hours, and the prize pool usually does not exceed $50. So at best, you will spend 6 hours to win a few dollars. It is much easier to spend 6 hours at work every day to earn more "honest" money.
Freerolls have their pros and cons. But one thing is for sure: you will definitely not learn how to play poker in them. To fully understand the game, you should play for real money and take every decision seriously.