Rebuy Poker Tournament Strategy – Part #1
Rebuy Tournaments Are A Fun And Profitable Online Poker Game.
Here We Consider Rebuy Tournament Strategy For Hour Number 1.
“You Are Broke – You Are Done” … “They Are Broke – They Are Done” Two quotes from David Sklansky and pillars of the excellent Poker Tournament Strategy book ‘Tournament Poker for Advanced Players’.
But what about rebuy tournaments?? These cornerstones of tournament strategy no longer apply (for the first hour at least!). Is there a ‘correct’ strategy for these, mathematically or strategically speaking? Should one gamble early in an effort to get a big stack or play a semi-conservative game to avoid spending too much money?
This article is part #1 of a series that will examine rebuy tournament strategy in some detail. Here we look at the first hour – while the rebuy option is still available. The second and third will look at moving into the second hour and look at some of the best rebuy tournaments available online to suit your budget and experience level.
The first thing to mention is that not all rebuy rules are the same. Some sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt allow you to rebuy right from the start, and again each time you have your starting stack or less. Others, for example Titan Poker, only let you rebuy when you are down to zero chips. All sites also have an ‘Add-On’ option, which allows you to add between 1500 and 2000 chips for an additional entry fee at the end of the rebuy hour. This article will focus on the rebuy tournaments which allow the initial and extra buy-ins on top of your starting stack.
Before the first hand is even dealt you need to decide whether to take the initial rebuy and begin the poker tournament with a double sized stack. If other players at your table have done this then there is a very good case for following suit. If you get a big hand early then the chance of doubling up your stack to 4 (or more) times the initial buy in will give you a huge advantage – if you did not take the initial rebuy then this double may only get you to the same level as your opponents.
The main strategy question for rebuy poker tournaments concerns whether to ‘gamble’ early in an effort to build a big stack or to play a little more conservatively to prevent yourself from spending too much money rebuying. To a large extent this will depend on the tendencies of the other players at the table.
If every hand results in all in confrontations between multiple players – who are showing down medium pairs or weak aces (A-10, A-J etc) then adjusting your game slightly can result in getting the big stack without too much risk. Your strategy should be to wait for a high ace or high pair and get your money into the middle with the best of it. At a tight table you are going to have to play some poker, building pots with your quality hands and hoping that you get paid off with a monster. Tight tables can be difficult in rebuys, for the sake of your wallet you need to resist the temptation to push junk hands to liven up the table… you’ll only be called by the strongest hands of your opponents and the blinds you steal will not adequately compensate for this.
You need to balance waiting for a big hand with ensuring that someone pays you off when you are dealt one. Folding everything and then suddenly pushing those aces or kings after 40 minutes may make even the least experienced opponents suspicious!
The balance in a rebuy tournament rests between loosening up enough (being prepared to rebuy) to have a good chance of making a big stack, and not being so wild that you end up spending 8, 10 or even more buy-ins. There is a diminishing return in terms of each buy-in spent – your chances of a big cash are largely determined by the hours following the rebuy period. ‘Buying a big stack’ will help, but not in proportion to the amount of dollars spent.
Conversely, refusing to rebuy at all will reduce your chances significantly. Not only will any chance of making a big stack be severely reduced, you will be playing too conservatively in relation to the rest of the field.
A good balance is to budget for 4 or 5 times the original buy-in for each tournament. This will allow you to play with the confidence that losing a single showdown will not bust you, get provide a balance within your bankroll compared to the chances of reaching the final table or higher paying positions.
At the end of the first hour you will have the opportunity to add-on, many newer players ask the question of when should I add-on. The question actually needs to be asked the opposite way around – what are the circumstances in which one should not add on!
There are really only 2 reasons not to add-on. The first is if your stack is so small that you have basically ‘given up’ on the tournament and intend simply to gamble with your remaining chips after the break. The second is that you have such a large chip stack that adding on will provide little benefit compared to the additional cost. The exact line is the subject of ongoing debate but as a rule of thumb if the add on is less than 10% of your stack and you have more than twice the average chip stack then you can consider saving the add-on money – even then if the cost is a small proportion of your online bankroll you should consider it!
Part #2 will look at the second hour of online rebuy tournaments. In the meantime why not check out the biggest and best rebuys on the internet at Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker, use poker bonus codes / referral code SNGPLANET for the Full Tilt 100% to $600 Bonus.
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