Free online poker rooms like Pokerstars are aimed at the beginners’ poker market. Many people are interested in trying online poker but are wary of using their own money at the start. The sophisticated software can also be a bit daunting to those that have never played online games before.

This means that when you play free poker you will generally find a large percentage of complete beginners and novices. This means that the general standard of play in free online poker rooms is generally below average. However there are also some of the types of players in the mix.

New Comers

You can find a lot of players opting for free play poker that have come across from different online casinos or variations of the game. They will be experienced in one type of poker play but new to that offered on particular websites. For example a player may be moving over from European online casinos to US poker rooms. The play is quite different so even though they may have a lot of experienced in the game they will want to try out the software and get used to the style of play in free rooms first.

You can also find people in free play poker rooms who are new to certain variations of the game. For example many online poker rooms like http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/free/ offer Texas holdem. If you are used to playing stud games or Badugi (Asian Poker) then you will want to try out holdem before you use your own money. This will help to avoid any mistakes that could cost you chips at the table.

Strategy Builders

However it is important to note that there will be a few experienced and even pro players working through these free online poker rooms as well. This is because playing free poker allows them to practice new strategies and playing tactics in a risk-free environment. A professional player would not want to try a new method of play against their peers until it was fully tried and tested. Free online poker rooms are suitable for this and allow any rough edges to be ‘ironed out’ before real money play.

Refreshers

You will also find people in free online poker rooms that used to play poker but haven’t done so for a while. They will be busy refreshing their skills and running through familiar play tactics again. They can be difficult players to predict as at one moment they can make silly beginner mistakes and the next they can play like experienced poker enthusiasts.