Texas Hold’em | Rules For Texas Hold Em

Re-Buy Tournaments

Re-buy tournaments

For re-buy-tournaments you need a different strategy than for normal (freeze-out) tournaments where you cannot get extra chips. We'll start with the 4 golden rules of re-buy-tournaments:

1. At the start of the game immediately re-buy.
2. If you're still playing when the break comes, always add on, unless your stack is so big that it would hardly make a difference.
3. Make sure you have enough cash to do a few re-buys and an add on.
4. Prepare yourself for some extremely bad beats during the re-buy period.

It's important to switch to another strategy during the re-buy period of a tournament.
Your strategy should be directly linked to the amount of the buy-in of the tournament.

Re-buy tournaments with a buy-in of $10+1 (re-buys and add on excluded)

On a few poker-sites there are many people playing, like the daily $3+0.30 re-buy ($10K guaranteed) on PokerStars with an average of 2500 players , making the rewards very interesting.
A first place with a win of $5000 is more a rule than an exception!

These tournaments are filled with a large group of total idiots and a small group of good players that will do very well during the tournament.
In the ideal scenario: you'll have a few players that will go all-in every time hoping to win a big pot.
You don't have to play every hand you have, just wait for a nice pocket-pair (99+), AK or AQ en then go all-in.

Your goal is to get as big of a stack as possible at minimal cost. Try not to re-buy more than 2 or 3 times.
If you do re-buy, do a double one so you'll have a double stack, just as you did at the beginning of the game. If many players at your table go all-in, it's not a bad idea to call if you have high suited connectors (78s, 910s, 10Js, QJs, and KQs) in order to get a big pot.
If you have built up a large stack play more conservatively to keep it. In the worst case scenario you don't double and will have a stack of 5000 chips (or you get fed up by a few bad beats and quit). Always add-on unless you have 3 times the chips than what is average because it will do nothing to improve your odds.

Re-buy tournaments with a buy-in of $20+2 to $50+5 (re-buys and add on excluded)

Because the buy-in is higher players will generally play more conservatively, although occasionally you'll see the odd re-buy-maniac at your table.
More “real” poker will now be played, usually waiting for the flop.

Bluffing during the re-buy phase doesn't do you much good because players will probably go all-in or call with a large range of hands. Especially flushes and straight draws are popular hands for the large profit they bring.
The higher the buy-in the more these tournaments will start to look like normal tournaments and you'll see less players.

Re-buy tournaments with a buy-in of $100+9 or more (Possible re-buys and add on excluded)

In these tournaments huge amounts of money can be won if you make it to first place.
On the other hand they can cost you a lot of money, if you don't make the cut.
Many players will not re-buy or add on and become “dead money”.
Don't make that mistake! Otherwise you can just as well shove your money where the sun doesn't shine.
Your odds will be virtually reduced to nothing.