Re-Buy Tournament Strategy
Posted by Curtom | October 19, 2008 | Posted in: Articles, Poker Tournament, Strategy | Comments (2)Re-buy poker tournaments have to be the most misunderstood of all tournament formats. The re-buy tournament is all about one purpose early and that is building a HUGE chip stack to carry you after the break and add-on period.
First, players that have never played in this format need to understand that the real poker is played after the re-buy and add-on period. Before those periods you need to be ready to get your chips in the middle. You especially need to do so when there is more than two people in the pot. Folding small pocket pairs, Ace King, suited connectors are not an option when there are multiple players in the pot all-in. The bottom line is that during the re-buy period you need to recalibrate your thinking in terms of making your own luck.
Second, you have to take the re-buy or double re-buy if one is available before the tournament begins and each time thereafter until the re-buy / add-on period is over. Why? You take the re-buy because if you do happen to win one of those huge pots early in the tournament and everyone else has $3000 and you only have $1500 you just duped yourself out of half your chips. That is not very smart and defeats the purpose of playing a re-buy tournament which is to accumulate chips. If the tournament you are going to play is a $3 re-buy then plan on spending $30 dollars to enable yourself to compete at maximum capacity at all times. Yes, when you re-buy you need to double re-buy every time you get busted. If you are playing a $10 re-buy plan on spending $100 and so on.
Obviously, re-buy tournaments can get very pricey the higher the initial buy-in so keep that in mind should you decide to play one. Some players will double buy-in and if they do not double or triple up before the break they are done and will not re-buy. Nothing wrong with that but in most cases you are going to be severely crippled even by taking the add-on after break if this is your mindset.
Lastly, if you do happen to amass that monster stack we all pray for before the break you can slow down if you choose to. You do not have to be in the middle with three, four, and five players anymore as it makes no sense to take the risk. At this point it is your job to protect your stack so that you can go into battle and make a run at the final table where the big money is.
Usually, re-buy tournaments have huge payouts and if you are lucky enough to fight through what typically is a large field of players you can look forward to a very nice pay day for your efforts. Be smart and play to accumulate chips before the re-buy / add-on period is over. Remember, the real poker is played after the add-on is over.
Good luck!
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I dissagree on the point that you have to accumulate chips as fast as you can.
I play about 95% of my poker in mtt’s, and am itm in about 90% of the mtt’s I play.
It could be because the mtt’s I play in are pretty small, with only a max player base of between 50 and 150 players, but I find that my success comes from being TAG most of the time. This applies to the re-buy period as well.
I get to the end of the re-buy period with only my starting chips, and one re-buy. I usually take the add-on, and find that with being TAG, I am in the top 10 at least 8 times out of 10.
I have noticed that most people in the top 10 usually bomb out long before the money positions.
Just my thoughts…
Hey PokerMan,
Thanks for dropping by. A smaller player base definitely alters the landscape and the strategy required. I certainly cannot argue that you have a much different situation than the re-buys that I typically play. The Pokerstars re-buys have around 2500+ players at the very least most days. However, I have seen people build monster stacks with the minimum re-buy so your strategy is valid as well. Nothing is written in stone in this crazy game.
However, the tournaments with the large fields have an average chip stack around $14000 after the first break and that is going to be hard to do if you play tight aggressive because you will miss out on a lot of opportunities.
Again, for a smaller field such as the one you mentioned I can see how that would work for you. Ultimately, you have to play the way that best suits your game and the field size accordingly and with a little luck you can at least put yourself in position to make a run.
Just keep in mind that you thoughts are always welcome here at Do or Die Poker whether you agree or disagree.