[Doc T River]

I may be in the minority, but I think you can get some good out of play money and freeroll poker. Remember though that you will get out what you put in. If you treat it as a joke, then you will get no positive benefits and it will probably hurt your real money game.

I think the one universal truth of poker, no matter the level, is you need to make good decisions.

One thing that the play money and freerolls have done for me is to teach me patience (waiting for the field to get down to the serious players) and acceptance of bad beats.

I play at a small site and the freerolls, covering many differrent games, are a lot smaller than those at the major sites. I think this difference in size puts people in a different mood, they don't feel the pressure to instantly double up, and they feel that they have a more reasonable chance to cash so the play is better.

I would also suggest finding an online poker community that offers freerolls to its members. I belong to one such community and the desire to learn exhibited by the members translates, for the most part, to the freerolls. As on the small site I play, the freerolls for this community cover a gamut of games.

And don't forget that play money and freerolls offer a free way to learn a new game. If you want to learn HORSE, I would try play money and freerolls before putting any more of your bankroll at risk.

I hope what I have said helps and if you wish to know the name of the small site and the name of the poker community, please feel free to private message me.