Rebuy 101

I've been playing a lot more online Rebuy tourneys lately and I've realized that there are some unique aspects in the game that are worth discussing in a post. Let me just share some of my thoughts and some of the things I've read and up to you if you find it useful.

Just for reference, the rebuy tourneys I refer to are the normal "buy in with unlimited rebuys during the 1st hour and one add-on after the 1st hour" tourney. These are the most common ones I see around and these are the ones I refer to in this article.

The 1st and most important issue in rebuys is with regards to buy in management. How many rebuys should you spend for it to be cost effective? Should you just keep on rebuying if you bust out until the rebuy period ends ?

The answer to this question is a qualified NO. There is actually what I would call the "break even" point for lack of a better word. The standard budget you allocate should only be something like 3x to 4x the buy-in. Anything beyond this is no longer cost effective because the poker sites actually use this rough guide to determine the last place cash.

An example would probably illustrate this better. Let's say the buy-in is $10 and the tourney starts with around 180 players. So if you follow the rough guide of buy in management I have stated above. The most that you should spend is around $40. This is equivalent to one buyin, maybe 1 to 2 rebuys and finally the add on.

How is this relevant? Well, if you would apply it to the 180 player tourney in the above example and assuming that 40 places get paid. You will notice most of the time that last place cash meaning places 31 to 40 will pay you slightly above $40. YEP.

Of course, I would like to reiterate that this is not a clear cut rule. Some sites may offer some varying amount. But I have noticed that this is the most common payout. In rebuy tourneys, last place cash is usually a little bit more than 4x the buy in. So in order to avoid negative wins (this is where you ITM but you actually lose money), then your total buy ins should be below that range. Sounds logical ? Of course, if you have cash to burn and you're aiming for 1st place anyway, then feel free to rebuy 10x.

OK. Now that you know how much budget to allocate. The other common question is should I take the add-on ? The answer is yes. Unless you're like the bad-ass chip leader with a humungous stack. Otherwise, always take the add on. Why ? Because it usually offers good value for money. Whereas a rebuy is the same amount as your starting stack. The add-on is usually something bigger in amount. Also, you need all the weapons you can get as the real tourney starts after the add-on period. There is no reason not to take it since you've already allocated it as part of your budget and you will be automatically disadvanatged if you don't since everybody gets it.

The other important aspect in rebuys is your play during the 1st hour. You should be extremely tight and play only premium hands. This way, you take advantage of all the loose play, calling stations, and hail maries that go on. Everybody is justifying playing stupid because they always think that they can rebuy anyway. Take advantage of this retarded thinking by playing tight ass poker. Your objective is to pad your stack before the rebuy period ends by playing basic poker and finding a spot where you're way ahead and then double or even triple up.

The worse thing that could actually happen even if you play no hands is you rebuy and you add on and you would actually find yourself still with an average stack after the rebuy period ends. This is true and that is why tight play is correct. One valid strategy that I actually see is players only buying in during the 1st hour break to conserve buy-ins and avoid all the mayhem. It's quite a good tactic but you should be well-versed in short stack play to pull it off.

After the rebuy period ends and the tournament resumes, then you can just play it like a normal freeze-out. Find your spots, be aggressive, etc. I would still advise patience as because of the rebuy, there are still tons of fishes remaining in the tourney. You wouldn't want to bust out because you thought you could bluff stupidjoe out of the pot and he kills you with middle pair against your busted flush draw.

And that's basically it. Rebuy 101. Thanks for reading.