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Tournament strategy rebuy tournaments

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Friday December, 4th 2009 by fullhouse

Re-buy tournaments are very different from standard tournaments when it comes to the early stages of game play. Once you are past the re-buy period you will have to revert to your standard tournament strategy, but the re-buy period in a re-buy tournament will often become a crazy environment that will require frequent adjustments. Some players incorrectly assume that a solid re-buy strategy is to simply go nuts during the re-buy period in an attempt to build up a stack. The fatal flaw in this strategy is all of the money that you will inevitably burn in tournaments before you end up actually going far enough in one that you will be able to recoup your losses. Tournament players as a whole seem to generally disregard the fact that tournaments are a marathon just like all other forms of poker. It is easy to see the huge prizes near the top of a tournament’s prize pool and assume that they are easily attainable, but the reality is that even the best tournaments can only hope for 10% returns on their investments. The re-buy period of a re-buy tournament will often demonstrate this total disregard. Never get caught up in thinking that tournament profits will come from just a few big scores, the reality is that small wins will add up over time. If you are able to understand that re-buys are just a different type of tournament you will be able to more effectively play them.

Playing a re-buy tournament

A re-buy tournament’s structure is just a bit different from a regular tournament’s structure. The first few blind levels (usually represented by one hour of play) will allow players who lose their stack to re-buy. Most re-buys will also allow players to re-buy for an additional full stack any time they fall below the initial amount of chips given per buy in. For example, if a player is given 1500 chips at the beginning of a re-buy they will usually be allowed to add 1500 chips whenever they fall below the 1500 chip threshold.
So what does this unique structure mean for you as a tournament player? It means that you will be given numerous opportunities to stay in the game, but it also means that your buy in amount will be multiplied many times if you are reckless. Your goal as a re-buy tournament player should be just the same as it is in any tournament, play smart and aggressive. Would you regularly be shoving with pre flop with 50 big blinds in a normal tournament? Of course not, so why apply this style of play to a re-buy tournament? Many players will play like this and it will cost them dearly. You should definitely be widening your range in an attempt to take advantage of loose players, but you shouldn’t be widening it so much that other players will be taking advantage of you. Re-buy tournaments can be incredibly frustrating, so it is important to remember that the later stages are what will ultimately define your success, not the first hour. If you get caught up in building a huge stack there is a good chance that you will be burning so much money in buy ins that cashing won’t even prove profitable.