How to get started in online poker without a bankroll

Building Something from Nothing

Are you staring at an empty account balance? 

I know how that feels. But everyone starts somewhere. Maybe you're a student, unemployed or you've recently failed to implement proper bankroll management and busted your roll. Maybe you're just getting started and can't justify risking your hard-earned cash. Whatever the situation is, it might feel like getting a proper BR is a pipe dream that you won't achieve. I got news for you, and it's good. In Ontario's regulated poker market, the dream of building a legitimate poker bankroll from absolutely nothing isn't just possible, it's happening all the time. I did it myself. I was out of the poker world for a little while and doing other things. When the legal Ontario Poker market began, I started playing freerolls on 888Poker. After about a week of playing evening freerolls, I won a $55 ticket. With that ticket I won a $530 highroller ticket, and then cashed in that tournament for $2k and a bankroll was spawned that I ran up to 150k over the course of 18 or so months. What happened after that is a story for another time. That might sound like a lucky outcome, but the truth is that with Ontario field sizes and average skill levels, it is inevitable you will win tickets if you keep playing freerolls. Likewise, if you keep playing those tickets; it is a matter of time before you hit a score that you can use to seed your ascent.

To be perfectly clear, I didn't stop playing the freerolls until I was well over 20k. There was just so much value in them, especially in the beginning. I won more free $109 tickets to the Sunday major then I can count. If you are a competent poker player who studies GTO, don't think a lack of funds is holding you back. The conditions in Ontario are such that you can thrive even if you start with nothing. It requires patience, discipline and skill, but the current landscape in Ontario offers unprecedented opportunities for dedicated individuals to grind their way up. With the small field sizes keeping the variance manageable, there is an abundance of value that a competent player can realistically build a four-figure bankroll within 3 months without even making a deposit. It's like you have a crate of infinitely replenishing snowballs and you can just keep rolling them down a hill. Most of the time, they disintegrate into nothing. But you keep trying, because you have unlimited snowballs. Eventually it starts accumulating more snow and starts to gain momentum.

The Methodology: Your Roadmap from Zero to Hero

The freeroll-to-bankroll strategy operates on a simple but powerful economic principle: leveraged compound growth with zero downside risk. Traditionally, capital is required to make money. Freerolls are like getting free lotto tickets with positive expected value and infinite ROI, creating a zero risk version of what economists call an asymmetric opportunity. You can't lose money you don't have and the upside potential is without limit when your investment is $0.

A key insight is that you're not just trying to win money when you play them. You're trying to win opportunities to win bigger money. This creates exponential rather than linear growth when executed correctly. Most skilled players see themselves as above playing freerolls or lack the patience or will to execute a strategy like this, which results in a competitive vacuum for disciplined up and comers to exploit.

This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a systematic approach that mimics how a professional manages risk and opportunity, with the unique advantage of zero investment.

Step-By-Step Guide

I realize many people reading this article already have accounts and some of you might not be starting from exactly $0. Jump in to whichever step below fits your current situation best, though it is optimally designed for someone who doesn't yet have any accounts set-up.

Phase One: Build the Foundation

Goal: Accumulate your first $200+ through freerolls and promotional offers

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Step 1 - 888 Account Creation

• 888Poker: Sign up to receive $20 freeplay immediately

Step 2 - Play out the Welcome Offer ( 7 days)

• 888Poker: The $20 is granted as 16 $1 tickets and 40 $0.10 tickets over the course of 7 days. You can use these in MTT's or Blast games. We recommend playing $1 satellites for $16.50 tickets and/or $1 sub-satellites into $8.80 satellites that award $55 tickets. These will often have overlays and the level of play is very soft. If you are competent at satellites, you can give yourself a good chance to win multiple tickets. For quickest turnover, use the $0.10 tickets on Blast games, but you can also redeem them into sub-satellites that award $2.20 tickets that seed into $16.50 MTTs. Alternatively, you could play out all the $1 tickets in Blast games as well which has decent potential to generate the funds for Step 3 without relying on cashing in a tournament after winning a seat into it. Play the freebie freerolls and the Winner Spinner freeroll as well as any Funky Gift Drops tickets you receive and whatever else is available at the time.

Hopefully, you've generated some cash to play with now. 

Step 3 - Wager through the bonus 6x ($120 in wagers)  (60 days)

• 888Poker: The difficulty of this step depends on how well you did in the previous step. If you were lucky enough to get a decent size cash, it will be trivial. If you are working off of $20 or less, it's going to be an uphill battle but not undoable - especially since you can supplement it with freeroll earnings. Your goal is to make $120 in wagers over 60 days and come out of it with at least $20 (hopefully a bunch more!) Depending on the size of the funds, the strategy will be different. If it's a small amount, the best way is probably to play 1200 $0.10 blast games which is 20 per day. If you were fortunate on the previous step or come into a decent cash from a ticket won in a freeroll, you might be able to meet the requirement in a couple of days playing $1 or $2 games. Keep grinding the freerolls either way. Once you've made the $120 in wagers, withdrawal $20.

Step 4 - GGPoker Account Creation / Welcome Bonus (6 days)

• GGPoker: Set up your GGPoker account and deposit the $20 you withdrew from 888Poker. Great! Now you've unlocked $100 in tickets within the next 6 days. This consists of a $50 Ontario MILLIONS Ticket and $50 in All-in or Fold SNG tickets, dispersed over the 6 day period. Use the proceeds of your SNG tickets along with your original $20 deposit to play the minimum hands required to unlock up to another $50 during this time.

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Step 5 - GGPoker Honeymoon period (30 days)

• GGPoker: Go into the promotion tab and click "Start Honeymoon". You now have a "mission" to complete each day for 30 days, with up to $350 in rewards. Use the funds you generated in the previous step to complete each mission. At the end of this step you should have generated at least $200 in cleared funds.

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Phase Two - The Transition (However long it takes)

Goal: Grow your $100-$300 to $1000+ through hybrid strategy

Strategic Expansion:

• Satellite Integration: Begin playing satellites using around 2% of your bankroll for each buy-in. (Satellites require lower BRM requirements due to flat payouts reducing variance, especially with low-field sizes.) For example, if you have $250 at this point, feel free to play the $5.50 satellites. The skill level in low buy-in satellites is as low as it gets outside of freerolls.
• Overlay Exploitation: The 888Poker satellites are especially lucrative due to softer fields and common overlays. If you have a few hundred on GGPoker at this point but haven't binked anything on 888Poker to do the same, consider moving 50% of your bankroll back over to 888 and scan the lobby for satellites that are going to overlay and late reg them.
• Blast Leaderboards: 888Poker has a daily Blast Leaderboard that is easy to place in. Your roll should be good enough to play ten $1 or $2 (maybe even $5) Blast games each day. A trick is to not join the leaderboard until you are in a 5x (or higher multiplier) and about to win it (all-in heads-up with the best hand going to the river). When you are sure to win, click "Join Leaderboard" at the last second. This will give you a head start and you will gain an edge to qualify for free tickets.
• Low Buy-in MTT's: Play $1 and $2 MTT's on GGPoker and 888Poker

Don't stop playing the freerolls, you need all the value you can get.
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Phase Three - The Acceleration

Goal: Scale your $1000+ bankroll. (The sky is the limit)
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• Branch Out: Set up accounts and take advantage of the 100% deposit bonuses on Pokerstars and PartyPoker
• Move up: Start playing higher buy in satties. $11, $22 and $55 satellites into $109's and $530 high roller events. (2% of bankroll per buy-in)
• Study Hard: Sign up for a subscription to GTOWizard and practice for 1 hour before every session.
• BRM importance: Implement the "Bankroll Builder" strategy from our Ultimate Guide to Bankroll Management

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The low down.

Ontario's current conditions offer an exciting opportunity for you to pursue your dream. While this approach may not suit everyone, as some prefer a faster route through depositing, it can prove to be a challenging yet rewarding experience for dedicated players. With the current field sizes keeping variance low and the abundance of valuable freerolls, a competent poker player can thrive. Of course, what defines competency may vary, but generally, I refer to those who have studied GTO and possess the skill to play, despite being without a current bankroll.

If you have some time on your hands and the poker skill to pull it off, then you can get a bankroll going without even making a deposit. I know, because that is what I did on 888. There is no excuse to not be improving your game and putting it to work if you're a serious poker player in Ontario. Don't let a lack of funds be a limiting factor. Take advantage of the opportunities!

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FAQ

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