A question concerning addons

callmedonnie · #1 10-10-2005, 05:49 PM

The setting is a local poker room. Today there are only 16 players. Entry is $50 for 3k chips, $40 rebuys whenever you have 3k or less, and a $40 add on after first hour (three rounds) for 4,000 more chips.

On the last hand before rebuys end I manage to win a huge pot more than tripling up and find myself at just under 17,000 chips. Blinds are going to be 200/400, 300/500, and then 500/1000, 1k/2k, and so on every twenty minutes.

At this game everyone adds on and I expect to drop a minimum of $90 when I play. The question is should I add on? I wish I had more details about the stacks at the table but lets just say I am up pretty big on most of the field, w/ a few guys at about 10-12k.

I added on because I felt that 4k represented nearly 1/4 of my stack, and that I don't want the rest of the field to gain an edge on me. A friend said I shouldn't have because I create more overlay by not buying in such spots and that I need to finish in $ twice as much if I rebuy.

I can't decide which is better. In that particular tournament I definitely got caught taking a stab at a few pots and lost some chips, but maintained my position at table because of the add on. I play a tight aggressive game so my stack stays relatively stable for the most part, but I steal make my moves and have to get caught.

At the same time, I feel like the overlay argument is pretty solid and I am trying to decide the best strategy.

TomHimself · #2 10-10-2005, 05:51 PM

blinds suck so i rebuy. i would also double rebuy in the beginning which i assume u did

adanthar · #3 10-10-2005, 05:53 PM

What's the payout structure?

callmedonnie · #4 10-10-2005, 05:59 PM

I didn't double rebuy in the beginning because some people play so loose and I've yet to see someone start w/ 6k. i have seen two guys consistently go all in blind on the first hand, but in this room people don't buy for 6k until they need to in order to compete w/ stacks. I pick up enough typically from all these loose limpers who I reraise and don't allow to see flops.

The payout structure this day was 900 for 1st, 450 for 2nd, and I forget 3rd but I think 250 about. I ended up w/ enough chips that 3rd wasn't even a thought to me. I ended up getting sucked out on by a 6 outer HU to get 2nd.

Hope this stuff helps.

adanthar · #5 10-10-2005, 06:16 PM

$40 to increase your stack 1/4 in a tournament with a bottom payout of $250 is a no brainer, IMO.

Your friend would have a point if it was some kind of bizarre flattened payout structure that paid 8, but not there.

callmedonnie · #6 10-10-2005, 06:33 PM

[ QUOTE ]
$40 to increase your stack 1/4 in a tournament with a bottom payout of $250 is a no brainer, IMO.

Your friend would have a point if it was some kind of bizarre flattened payout structure that paid 8, but not there.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking the whole nature of this problem relied upon percentage you could increase your stack in relation to the payouts/overlay situation. Basically, I was looking for some easy pot odds rule of thumb but I don't think their is one.

I am new to rebuy tournaments but I have been cleaning up at this room as of late. I am yet to attend and not spend the extra $40 on the add on, and 4/5 times I have only needed to drop 90.

fnurt · #7 10-10-2005, 06:40 PM

Fossilman's rule says you should figure out what an average stack will be once everyone is in the money, and if you have less than that, you should take the add-on.

I don't know if this can be proven but it seems to me that it's at least in the ballpark. Assuming the add-on gives you more chips than a standard rebuy, it takes a very unusual set of circumstances for it to be a bad investment.

callmedonnie · #8 10-10-2005, 06:51 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Fossilman's rule says you should figure out what an average stack will be once everyone is in the money, and if you have less than that, you should take the add-on.

I don't know if this can be proven but it seems to me that it's at least in the ballpark. Assuming the add-on gives you more chips than a standard rebuy, it takes a very unusual set of circumstances for it to be a bad investment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Chip counts. All 16 players spent $50 for entry which was 3,000 chips and another $40 for 4,000 more chips. 7,000 chips times the 16 players gives us 112,000 total chips. I remember them counting at the end of tournament to make sure everything was legit, and the count was I think 163,000 total, which makes sense w/ the rebuys.

So by those standards in the money average stack is a little over 50k, so at 21k I am nowhere near that, yet alone the 17k I was at. Raymer seems like a standup guy to me, so I guess its an easy rebuy.