Rebuy Tourney Strategy Question.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

At a local cardroom, there is an unlimited rebuys first hour tourney that I've played in several times.

The field starts out with 96 people and they pay out to top 8.

I haven't had the best of results there out of the 6 or so times I've played. I finished in the top 20 last week, which is the best that I've done so far(I never re-buy). The play there for the first hour is ridiculously loose.

A friend that I play with there we've discussed strategy about how to go about playing in these tourneys. He goes by the method of playing pretty loosely and brings money for 2-3 rebuys, and hopes to acquire a large stack relatively quickly by taking large gambles. I play the opposite, I play pretty tight and when I get into a hand play them fairly aggressive, but try not to put a huge amount of my stack at risk.

My goal is normally to have at least an Average stack at the first break. I feel that I'm a better player than a lot of the guys there (I play in S&G's there often and win consistently.), and when you take the rebuy out of it, that is where I can make my moves and outplay a lot of the field.


If you were playing a similar tourney, what type of style would you think to be optimal.

[IHateKeithSmart]

Here's what I do:

First, I rebuy immediately to give me more chips to work with. During the rebuy period, I do play more loosely than a non-rebuy tournament. I loosen my opening and calling standards a bit, maybe opening up another 10-15% of playable hands. You have to accumulate chips during the rebuy period, or you will be a short stack when rebuys are finished. I normally budget for 4-5 rebuys and an addon (if available). Of course, when the rebuy is over, you can shift back to a more normal game.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

[ QUOTE ]
Here's what I do:

First, I rebuy immediately to give me more chips to work with.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not possible, you have to bust out to re-buy, there is one add-on at the end.

[yoadrians]

When I play rebuys - and I've had some success on Pokerstars' $11+R tournaments - I try to AVOID post-flop play during the rebuy period altogether. Push or fold is how I play, and I try to double up a few times ... or just rebuy.

When I play this way, I also set a number that I'm OK with and will revert to my normal style of play (i.e. when I start with 3,000 chips - 1 buy-in + 1 rebuy - I usually end the all-in game when I get to the range of 9,000 to 12,000).

[joeboe2001]

Everything I have read says you should rebuy whenever possible and always take the add on.

I have played in exactly two tournaments with rebuys.

I played extremely tightly during the first hour in both tournaments, doiing all I could to avoid having to rebuy before the add on.

The first time, I managed to make it to the rebuy with most of my starting chips, maybe a few extras. I took the add on, played on with an average stack, finished 12th out of 44, 9 paid.

The second time, I got a pretty good hand just before the hour was up, went all in, lost, and took the rebuy. A coouple of hands later the rebuy period was over, and I paid for the addon but not an optional extra rebuy. I played tightly from then on, went to the final table with a pretty puny stack (when they took out the $100 chips, I asked them not to give me any $5K chips so it would look like I had something!)and ended up 2nd out of 130.

My advice? If you get a whopper in the first hour, go for it--if you double up, play tight (unless you get another whopper!) and take the add on. If you lose, don't hesitate to rebuy. But don't get carried away with loose play in the first hour just because you can rebuy--I have seen people rebuy 3 or 4 times in the first hour, add on, and still bust out a few minutes later. They did not look happy, and I don't think anyone else thought much of their play!

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

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I have seen people rebuy 3 or 4 times in the first hour, add on, and still bust out a few minutes later. They did not look happy, and I don't think anyone else thought much of their play!

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This is nothing, there are guys there that rebuy at 10+ times during the first hour.