Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

[muttley]

Can anyone give me some pointers on rebuy tourneys? I normally play a tight game early on in MTT, gradually loosening up as the blinds go up. How do you approach the early stages of a rebuy tourny? Do you continue to play tight and hope to exploit the (inevitably) looser play of your opponents, or do you join in the carnage and reach into your pocket when it goes against you? The tourney is a £30 rebuy with unlimited rebuys for the first 90 mins. Looking at the prize pot the average number of rebuys is just under four! The payout structure is top heavy, with only four out of thirty being paid and 60% going to the winner, though I'm told deals are quite common when it gets to the final 6 or so. Any thoughts?

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. first off i would rebuy immediately(if your allowed)if you do hit a huge hand you can get more chips but i would not be wasting these chips playing like a loon;) i would be playing very tag and maybe trying to see a few cheapish flops here or there.if you hit the flop hard or have a big overpair you are much more likely to get paid off ,so i'd call small raises with suited connectors ax suited etc. i usually at least double up before the break in most tourneys by playing like this.you might not be the biggest stack but relative to the blinds you should be doing okay if you do get stacked up ,dont get tempted to bully before the end of the rebuy:ok each chip is valuable and it's easy to donk away chips by becoming over aggressive,people are more likely to call lighter ,so you want the goods(or at least a pair:)) if your betting.you want to get to the addon with as many chips as possible whilst giving away as few chips as poss to the smaller stacks. of course if you think your ahead go for it but dont take silly risks. try to keep an eye on the other stacks in the tourney as much as possible and try to pick out any loose/lucky players that might stack you up later. you need to keep within range of the bigger stacks if possible but dont push it too much. usually as its a rebuy the average stacks post rebuy will be about the same no of bbs as when you started,you shouldnt need to do anything rash if you are around a mid stack. then just play like a normal tourney,fingers crossed you should be able to outplay those that bought their way thru:hope

[muttley]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. Thanks for the reply. There seems to be quite a few things to keep a look out for that don't occur in freeze outs. I think I'll start with a £5 rebuy before entering the above tournament.

[mattywallace121]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. watch out for the players who are rebuying and rebuying. Not the ones that are getting it in good and getting sucked out on but the ones that are playing loose. When you have a big hand against these bet hard, they will call you down light Also dont keep looking at the big stacks and thinking look at all their chips i better get a move on. Stick to your game, things can change very quickly after the rebuy period is over, if youve made the end of the rebuy period with a mid chipstack and havent rebought loads of times, i now think of the tournament as having added value but this is only part one get in the right zone and can go back to your normal MTT freezeout game

[muttley]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

first off i would rebuy immediately(if your allowed)

Double up, or would you wait to see what everyone else does? At what point does a rebuy become EV -ve?

[happyhornet]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. I normally play a level of so with the same approach as Uber, TAG but see a few cheap flops. If I can double up, I've no need to rebuy, but if I have lost a few hundred chips so be it, and go for a rebuy.

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

Double up' date=' or would you wait to see what everyone else does? At what point does a rebuy become EV -ve?[/quote'] yeah its pretty pointless if no one else rebuys or doubles thru early,then maybe not worth it,even less so if you are the one who doubles thru;) very worth it if you've got a lucky loon on your table that has doubled thru.you might only get one big chance in the rebuy period and you want to make the most of it:ok your still only putting in a rebuy +addon instead of the 4 rebuys average, so your putting in half the average but still trying to make the max you can. after all,with only top 4 paid you do need to try and get some chips from somewhere.

[Dodger]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. If I may...can I move on to the break time add-on. At what point does it become bad value to take the add-on? I'm not a great lover of rebuys, but do sometimes play them and I generally look at the chips on offer and think if they represent above 33% of my chips then I'll take them. Haven't got a clue if this is sensible or not. I suppose if you have the time (and the inclination) then you can calculate the value of your chips equity wise both with and without the add-on and come to a decision this way. Would be interested to see how others view the value of the add-on.

[happyhornet]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. I read somewhere that if the add-on represents less than 20% of your stack, then it is not worth doing. No idea if this is true as I never have that many chips!!

[BAM]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. Why would you play TAG in a rebuy?

[GaF]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

Why would you play TAG in a rebuy?

Contrarian poker? Because everyone else is playing LAG?

[BAM]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

Contrarian poker? Because everyone else is playing LAG?

Nope

[fradge26]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. I would play TAG in the early stages of a rebuy tourney tourny because it is fairly easy to get your chips in with, for example; top against middle pair. There are many players, especially at live games, who do not give you credit, or care that you are only playing decent starting cards. What is your arguement for Joining in teh LAG fun WASP?

[BAM]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

I would play TAG in the early stages of a rebuy tourney tourny because it is fairly easy to get your chips in with, for example; top against middle pair. There are many players, especially at live games, who do not give you credit, or care that you are only playing decent starting cards. What is your arguement for Joining in teh LAG fun WASP?

Who said anything about LAG?

[Samba_SamPa]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. I'd suggest the rebuy part of the tournament should be played like a cash game - if you get stacked you reload. So make sure you're rolled for the variance - if your thinking is 'well I can afford 1/2 rebuys' then you're not going to be playing optimally for the circumstances of the rebuy period. You need to push the edges and be prepared to rebuy if it doesn't work out. If you back your poker ability then the more chips there are on your table when the rebuy period finishes the better for you anyway.

[BAM]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

I'd suggest the rebuy part of the tournament should be played like a cash game - if you get stacked you reload. So make sure you're rolled for the variance - if your thinking is 'well I can afford 1/2 rebuys' then you're not going to be playing optimally for the circumstances of the rebuy period. You need to push the edges and be prepared to rebuy if it doesn't work out. If you back your poker ability then the more chips there are on your table when the rebuy period finishes the better for you anyway.

:clap:clap:clap So many people post "I hate rebuys" or "rebuys are for donkeys" or "I play TAG" what they are really saying is they are scared of rebuys. Rebuys are fantastic for me and if played right can be very lucrative but you cannot go into one with a plan they are very dynamic games and you have to keep up with those dynamics as the game plays out AND ALWAYS ADD ON

[ubermonkey1]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

:clap:clap:clap So many people post "I hate rebuys" or "rebuys are for donkeys" or "I play TAG" what they are really saying is they are scared of rebuys. Rebuys are fantastic for me and if played right can be very lucrative but you cannot go into one with a plan they are very dynamic games and you have to keep up with those dynamics as the game plays out AND ALWAYS ADD ON

i like rebuys bri:ok and yes i play tag vs lag players,if its a tag table then i play lag but 99% of the local or online games i play are ultra lag so thats why in general i play that way.it's pretty easy to get a decent stack together without breaking the bank ,so i dont see why i'd need too:unsure for instance a local £15 rebuy i play in has one loon who plays just about every hand and usually rebuys countless times (well about 10-15), but he has to come at least 3rd to get his money back:lol that just doesnt make sense to me:unsure anyway i seem to remember you advocating a tag style in the bluesq guk rebuys ,so it must be right;):lol

[BAM]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments.

i like rebuys bri:ok and yes i play tag vs lag players,if its a tag table then i play lag but 99% of the local or online games i play are ultra lag so thats why in general i play that way.it's pretty easy to get a decent stack together without breaking the bank ,so i dont see why i'd need too:unsure for instance a local £15 rebuy i play in has one loon who plays just about every hand and usually rebuys countless times (well about 10-15), but he has to come at least 3rd to get his money back:lol that just doesnt make sense to me:unsure anyway i seem to remember you advocating a tag style in the bluesq guk rebuys ,so it must be right;):lol

For you maybe and how many have I won ;) Again missing the point I didn't say anything about TAG or LAG in this thread :eyes but I wouldn't play it like an MTT it is effectively a cash game style for the first hour whether that means playing TAG or LAG depends on how you see the table going.

[glceud]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. All good stuff but there must be a point when it is mathematically no longer correct to continue to rebuy. Are you supposed to continue to rebuy when your only getting 10 bb for your dough? Or if your the only person prepared to rebuy at your table and all the tourney chips are else were?

:clap:clap:clap AND ALWAYS ADD ON

Read that years ago(in fact I think it was the only strategy available for rebuys 10 year ago) But like wise Maths must dictate surely?

[muttley]

Re: Strategy for Rebuy Tournaments. Brilliant thread guys......very informative! (For those of us who knew FA about rebuys). I play cash games, so I think I understand the early stage strategy now. If someone was starting out with a double stack then I think I would want a double stack too. I'll probably have to play a few to get the feel for them, but at least I can go to the table with a plan. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.