Help me out! Home tourney with strange structure

[ScottTheFish]

Ok guys, i've been invited (aka suckered) to play in a home NLHE tourney tonite. The structure sounds strange, but I love to play live tournies so I'm game.

Its a small $5 buy in. T1000 to start, with unlimited $5 rebuys any time you drop below 1000, for the first hour. Also a $10 add-on for T1000 regardless of stack at the end of the rebuy period.

This is a weekly game with a cast of regulars. from what I hear they get pretty wild with TONS of rebuys, pushing the 1st place money over $300 sometimes.

It's usually 2 table, 16-20 people.

Any strategy suggestions? Play slightly looser during the rebuy period and try to get a big stack from all the wild calls? Or play tight and let them beat up on each other?

My main goal is to get through the rebuy period and have a decent enough stack to play my normal game after the craziness dies down.

I've played a few hundred $10-30 Party SNG's and about 10 live tournies and do ok, so I have a decent basic strategy. But I've never played in a rebuy tourney and I'm not sure what adjustments I should make. Any advice is appreciated.

[ScottTheFish]

Bump. Anyone? Help a brotha out!

[JCoe]

here's my suggestion

i played a lot of the $3 satallites in pokerstars and the games played like the one you described, crazy during rebuys and more normal afterwards. this is the way i played and it got me into the top 60 out of 800 people 70% of the time.

i would play it close to the vest during the start, and when you do got your good hands, aa-tt, ak. make them pay, especially it there is a lot of all in preflop action. if there is a maniac doing a lot of all in before the flop, i might consider calling with any pocket pair and taking my chances in a race. i might also be more inclined to do a lot more slowplaying if the game is really aggressive and let them bet my hands for me and then going over the top on 4th street or after the flop bet if its a big enough pot already.

i would only rebuy chips when there are more that 50% of the table with enough to double me up after the rebuy. and would almost always buy the add on unless i was way out of contention.

after the rebuy period, i would revert back to my normal game. playing tighter from the front and looser from the back, but not to loose. don't chase too many draws. be patient and get in when you think you have the rest of it.

i had pretty good luck with this strategy, jmo though

[ScottTheFish]

Thanks J, I didn't see your post before I left, but I did pretty much what you described. I got lucky early and got KK that boated and I almost tripled up. I noticed early on that if you check to these jokers they assume you have nothing and bet strong into you. So I just waited for good hands and let them "bully" me out of their whole stacks. It was great.

Built a big stack early and cruised to a 1st place. I'll definitely be back. Thanks for the advice.

[mackthefork]

[ QUOTE ]
Built a big stack early and cruised to a 1st place. I'll definitely be back.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm are you sure, I hope you are, how much did you take out? Nice effort.

Regards ML

[ScottTheFish]

Thanks mack. 1st place paid $308... not a bad ROI in a 18 person tourney, with me only putting in $15.

$5 buy-in, plus I took the $10 add-on even tho I was the big stack. Rebuys-a-plenty made for a nice pot. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[JCoe]

congrats on your 1st place. sounds like a game you should make profitable for yourself. good luck!