Australian Poker

The term freeroll is also used to describe a tournament with no entry fee but the use of the terms 'free' and 'no entry fee' can be misleading because some freerolls require a payment at some point to gain entry to the tournament.

The prize pool, instead of being an accumulation of the entry fees minus a fee for the 'house' (the way pay-to-play tournaments are typically constructed), is derived from a donation from the house, sponsorship fees, admission charged to spectators, broadcast rights fees, or any combination of these. Sometimes a particular cardroom or casino (either traditional or online) will offer a freeroll tournament to frequent players. Invitation-only tournaments are frequently freerolls.

PartyPoker is one poker room that offers 'freeroll' tournaments and games for players, with entrants not being charged for poker tournament entry.

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An ante is a forced bet in which each player places an equal amount of money or chips into the pot before the deal begins. Often this is either a single unit (a one-value or the smallest value in play) or some other small amount; a proportion such as half or one-quarter of the minimum bet is also common. An ante paid by each player ensures that a player who folds every round will lose money (though slowly), thus providing each player with an incentive, however small, to play the hand rather than toss it in when the opening bet reaches them. Antes are the most common forced bet in draw poker and stud poker, and are uncommon in games featuring blind bets (see next section). However, some tournament formats of games featuring blinds will impose an ante to discourage extremely tight play. Without the ante in such games, a player who has not paid a blind can toss in his hand at no cost to him; the ante ensures that doing so too often is a losing proposition. With antes, more players stay in the hand, which increases pot size and makes for more interesting play (important in a televised tournament final). In games where the acting dealer changes each turn, it is not uncommon for the players to agree that the dealer (or some other position relative to the button) provides the ante for each player. This simplifies betting, but causes minor inequities if other players come and go or miss their turn to deal. During such times, the player can be given a special button indicating the need to pay an ante to the pot (known as "posting"; see below) upon their return.

Multi-table tournaments involve many players playing simultaneously at dozens or even hundreds of tables. Satellite tournaments to high-profile, expensive poker tournaments are the means of entering a major event without posting a significant sum of cash. These have significantly smaller buy-ins, usually on the order of one-tenth to one-fiftieth the main tournament's buy-in, and can be held at various venues across the country and, more recently, on the Internet. Top players in this event, in lieu of a cash prize, are awarded seats to the main tourney, with the number of places dependent on participation. Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, was able to afford his seat by winning an Internet tournament with a $39 buy-in. Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker champion, acquired his seat via a $165 Internet tournament.

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