Play money and GGPoker: how to play for free?

Poker rooms is interested in new players. Some rooms attract newcomers with bonuses, others - bet on rake races, others - impress with rakeback. Additional arguments can be: the client software, the level of play, the attitude of the room to the software. There are also less obvious ways to lure players, like free play. Today we will evaluate how things are with the game for play money in GGPoker.

How to find a free game at GGPoker?

Since the establishment of the room there has been no poker for play money at GGPoker. It was added in March 2023. Since then you can play any type of poker and discipline for free. Exceptions include: tournaments, VIP games and Battle Royale. There are no tables with conditional chips.

Cash tables for conditional chips in the lobby are displayed with the letter "P"

You need a GGPoker account to get access to free play. Here's how to find play money tables in lobby:

• Log in to account with your username and password.
• Select the "Holdem" tab.
• In the new window, scroll down the list of tables. Real money play is separated from play money by a small dark blue bar. There is no other way to sort the tables yet.
• Open the table with vacant seats.
• Click on a vacant seat and start playing.

Spins for virtual currency can be played for 5,000 and 10,000 chips

The path to the free Spin&Gold tables is a little different. Here you need to:

• Select the "Spin&Gold" tab.
• Click on the "Play Money" button on the left side of the lobby. It is the last in the list.
• Select one of the two available limits.
• Click on the gray "Play Now" button.
• Confirm registration in the pop-up window. The game will start when two more people register for the tournament.

Cash tables have the most players. On Friday at 15:30 UTC the game was going on at 43 tables for conditional money. There are few people on the other tabs. You will have to wait up to 5-7 minutes for your opponent in Spin&Go. In the short deck only 1 table was half filled with players. In Rush&Cash there were only 57 connections. The PLO tab was even worse with only 22 people playing two varieties of Omaha. The free play on PokerStars looks preferable. PS outperforms GGPoker in four aspects:

• Traffic. There are many times more play money players on PokerStars. The Pokerstars advantage is surprising because there are far more real money poker players.
• Choice of disciplines. PokerStars has conditional money tournaments, GGPoker does not.
• Types of poker. On PokerStars to sit down at the table for virtual chips can be in the stud, draw-poker or BADUGI. GGPoker has only No Limit Holdem, Omaha and short deck poker.
• Interface. PS has a separate client for free play. Switching requires the click of a button. GGPoker has no such conveniences - everything has to be done manually.

Another option for free poker is freerolls. However, free tournaments are few on GGPoker. Regular freerolls in the room are limited to the "Daily $100,000 #ThanksGG Flipout". A solid prize pool attracts attention, but the tournament is invitation-only.

You can't get up at GGPoker from scratch

Freeroll tickets are given to players who have already tried real money play. For more attractive poker rooms with free tournaments, check out our ultimate guide to freerolls.

How to get play money if I lost my starting chips?

All GGPoker users automatically receive 10,000 conditional chips. This is enough to sit at the lowest limit cash table or register for a Spin&Go tournament. However, with blinds of 100/200 you'll only have 50 BB in the cash and with a buy-in of 5,000 chips you'll have 2 buy-ins into the tournament. The chances of losing everything quickly are high, which is why the poker room has given you the option to order extra play money. Here's how to do it:

1. Log in to your GGPoker account.

2. Click on your profile in the top right corner.

3. Select "My Wallet" tab.

4. Click "Get Chips" in the rectangle with the amount of play money.

Your account will be instantly credited with 10,000 chips. You can request new chips 2 times a day. If you have already received virtual currency, the next 10,000 conditional money can be requested in 4 hours. The limitation on time and number of requests protects adequate players from those who like to push every hand. Without this mechanism, users could order 10,000 chips, lose a stack and get 10,000 chips again in a second.

Where else is there play money?

The most obvious option is PokerStars. Tens of thousands of players come there every day to play for free, and the client for play money offers exactly the same types of poker and disciplines as for real money.

Poker Stars is great for beginners who don't want to invest their money

There is free play on partypoker, 888poker, Winamax and TigerGaming. The traffic there is small, but you can find opponents.
If you opt for PokerStars, we recommend reading up on how to get play money for free or purchase them for real money.

What free software does PokerStars offer?

PokerStars does not ban poker trackers and support software when playing for real money. There are no bans on the play money client either. We recommend two programs:

1. StarsCaption. This is an assistant program which converts stacks to big blinds, shows built-in HUD, saves betting profiles, places tables on your screen when multi-tabling. It's good because it's free with no time limit on limits up to NL10 and in tournaments up to $3. If you choose play money games, it is free everywhere.

888Caption and PartyCaption — similar programs for other rooms

2. Hand2Note. Imports played hands into the database and on its basis displays statistics on your opponents. Due to this information, it is easier to make profitable decisions at the table. Another useful feature of the software for collecting statistics - it is convenient to analyze the hands, find mistakes and correct them. Since September 2019 the basic version of Hand2Note is free with no time limit. You can download it from the developer's official website. With the first paid subscription we give customers a 10% discount.

Even a few extra clues can greatly increase your winnings

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