Rebuy Tournament Strategy - When to Re-Buy in a Tournament

Rebuy tournaments can be considered one of the more difficult, challenging and yet rewarding Texas Holdem tournaments out there. Often times people who are not accustomed to these playing fields will rant and rave about the stupidity of the players, how they were busted with what should have been the winning hand. Here is the difference though, a regular Texas holdem tournament player can not sit down at a rebuy game and expect to play with the same logic and theory that is used in the games they are accustomed to. Doing this will not only cost them some extra buy-ins but send them on a roller coaster set for complete disaster. Rebuy tournaments are a playing filed of their own, and once you have accepted this and learned to adapt to the game will you be better prepared to challenge your way to heads up play.

Rebuy tournaments are not only very fast, but loose in the early stages, and can be one of the most aggressive forms of poker your going to find. Any player who is considering a rebuy should have the bankroll that is suffice to play. This will be needed to either buy back in once you have been eliminated or in most cases an add-on. The game is structured the exact same as your regular MTT except players can often rebuy chips as often as the like once they have been eliminated.

Once the game has started you will find players are making any attempt to double up in a hurry and not always with good starting hands preflop either. This is what can drive a regular tournament player insane. When you sit in a game that evolves into a much different aspect than what you are used to. when it becomes such a patience endearing game that you can not even begin to understand the principles or logic behind these players. A note to some - If you are a passive player than rebuys are not your form of tournaments, you need to have the guts to play with others who are and will continue to push you with every ounce of aggression they've got. They will not stop till they have more than tripled there chip and taken position on you.

During the first hour there will be plenty of action, plenty of errors and a lot of bad beats with players looking to double or even triple up in a hurry. It may seem like they are careless foolish players but looking at it from their perspective, a rebuy needs chip lead and how they get this lead is through forms of aggression. Multiple buy-ins can be expected from most and some will continue to buy right back in till this is no longer available,

So what should you be doing when playing? For starters get your mind frame out of typical tournament scenarios. Remember this is a different game so a different approach must be taken. Refrain from limping and keep your starting hands strong. You will need to have a hand that will be backed by numbers in the event of being pushed. Which leads me to my next point, if your holding a strong hand never show fear in calling raises. Most re-buy players will bully the tables letting everyone know they are not worried about busting out, so you will have to push back and should do so with hand that represents strength.

Once the first break rolls in you will be given the option of an add on. It is recommended you take it. If your chip position in relation to the tournament is in the top 10% you probably wont need it, but if you are below this amount its highly advised to add those extra chips and keep your head above water. Now the second hour begins and you are assuming that a regular skilled game will take form once again. This is probably not going to happen - not yet at least. The players who were making moves throughout the first hour will once again be testing the waters. Keep the same mind frame that you held in the first hour and let these players knock themselves out. They will do this with very little difficulty. Keep your starting hands tight, show no fear when put to the test and above all else remain positive. These highly aggressive players are still going to try and take down one player after another. allowing them to send you on tilt will only hinder your game.

Once you have neared what seems to be an intense game, you will find the playing field will narrow out significantly. This will make most players start to ease up and even become passive when it gets close to bubble time. Here you will have two options - become passive yourself and maybe make the money, or walk in and take over. It's quite simple. You can try and avoid situations and be blinded out because of it or you can use your head. Play position, use your pot odds and implied odds. It works and it will help you in making less errors than those on your table. A point to remember, players who make it to the final table or even top 20 can be fairly decent players which means they to will be using the basic principles of poker towards the success of their game. You will need to steal blinds on a fairly consistent basis allowing you free passes to see more hands. You will find that once players are in the money it becomes a strategic, thought bearing process and resorts to your typical MTT.

In closing, a rebuy tournament will take you for a ride like no other game. It's full of over aggressive maniacs whose strategy is only to take your chips at whoever cost. How you finish will play a lot on your thought process in these games and being able to expect anything to take place. Keep your mind clear, keep your hands tight and don't back down when you think you have the best hand.