Tournament Add-Ons

I am starting to feel that add-ons are a complete waste of money. Anytime I have been in a tournament that offers add-ons, I am either short stacked at the time (which I have previously utilised the add-on), and then found a couple of levels later I am going all in against a deep stack and my add on is insignificant at that point. Alternatively if I am deep stacked at the time of the add-on, then it isn't worth the money to get an extra 5% chips.

Lately the only way I have been playing re-buy and add-on tournaments is to pay the initial amount and view the rebuys and add-ons as a nice way of getting the prize pool bumped up. If I bust out, I don't bother with a rebuy, and I have been foregoing the add-on.

IS this a good strategy? Should I be playing these tournaments differently, or should I be avoiding them altogether?

Ideal strategy for rebuy tournaments, and rebuy satellites: Tournaments: -always rebuy at the start. 1500 doubling through 3000 versus 3000 doubling through another 3000 stack. -if you get stacked by a smaller stack who didn't rebuy (you are now down to around 1500, and can rebuy), then decide how much money you want to spend in this tourney and go from there -always add on. there is no situation where adding on is bad. normally the blind level at the time of add on is really low, and the add on can sometimes allow an hour's worth of blinds to pass by. Satellites: -normally the initial buy in is 1/10th of the package, so knowing this, you should never intend on making any more than 1 rebuy + your add on. -rebuying here IS optional. -add on IS mandatory here. I can't stress how much importance there is of adding on in these. -the explanation of the rebuy being optional, and the add on being mandatory is from experience. I can't put it in words, but I can safely say I know its the best option. I play the 20 + 2r to the 1 million guarantee every time it comes up and I normally grab my seat via this.

I must agree with wona here. I ALWAYS rebuy before the start of a tournament. Then you just see how things unfold as to how many rebuys you take after that. To be honest though , success in rebuy events usually is expensive if the cards dont fall well. And of course you must Always take the add-on !!! Good luck...

IMHO

The trick to a re-buy tourney is to make it through WITHOUT a re-buy. Means a pretty tight first hour, but it's doable.

YMMV


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I agree with Wona as well. Always do the first re-buy and always add on. I don't bother to play them if I am not prepared to at least do that.

I can understand the initial rebuy. but Always add on?
Doesn't the add-on depend on size of your stack, is the prize pool worth it, and maybe other things ... ?

I always Thought the general strategy in rebuys was to rebuy until you had a large stack. Shove any decent hand and then rebuy. Regardless the first Rebuy is vital, pointless playing without it imo.

Once made Ninth in nice Juicy 8k Rebuy but I got very lucky on my first hand.

I personally dont like rebuys for this reason, end up costing me too much. Is it really doable staying tight for the first hour?

....and this is where I usually get my free re-buys.


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Maybe I have a terrible strategy but I try not to rebuy and will usually take the add on but not if I have a significantly above average stack.

I feel like you need to gamble to get a stack, to have your best chance to WIN the tourney.I believe that being willing to add-on and rebuy, allows you to take additional chances to build a stack.Playing scared lowerers your chances to WIN!



Snow

if you are shortstacked, you should add on, cause you will have more chances of winning.... of course maybe a deep stack beats you, this can happens however imo if you decide to play a rebuy tournament yoiu have to make the add on and see what happens..
If you were deepstacked, i agree with you.. its a waste of money to add on, cause you have lots of chips and adding more wont make you stay in a much better position...

seems like a no brainer to me to rebuy at least once+add on to the max, thankfully there's lots of people who don't want to cap the rebuys/add ons so you're usually high in the standings at the first break even if you don't double up. if you come prepared with a strict budget for the trny that allows a little room to gamble once or twice you'll be fine just don't go too crazy gambling in the first hour if it's not for a wsop bracelet.

my thought on rebuys and addons(depending on the rules of the tourny..some only allow rebuys when out of chips or addons if chip count at or below a certain count ) is _if_ you are going to you should do your addon(s) early 'speacially at the very begining if allowed,it gives you more flexibility in your play and allows you to wait out the cold cards times,rebuy only very early too if possible/or necessary if you lose your chipies if you do it later in the tourny you are still going to be on a kinda short stack to those still in tourny...unlimited rebuy tournys are just to run up the count from players that feel slighted or are pissed off 'cause they got splashed out in big pots later in the tourny....so do it early and play your best.

Guys, this is a subject which has been often discussed here and at other forums and which has been mathematically analysed. Probably the best known analysis is that of Arnold Snyder.

The answer is as follows:

It is always correct to take a rebuy at the earliest opportunity, assuming that you are playing opponents whose ability level is equal to or less than your own. However, if you are "taking a shot" at a game where the opponents are strong, it is better to spend a single buy-in only and hope for some help from the cards.

It is always correct to take the addon, unless you have so few chips remaining that you would be a short-stack and at a severe disadvantage even with the add-on. In that case (but only in that case) save your money.

When looking at a rebuy, consider it as being a deepstacked tourney that begins when the rebuy period ends. In other words, you will need a decent-sized stack to be able to play deepstacked poker with the rest of them. What may appear to some as being an hour long donkfest actually has a means behind the madness (in many cases).
When playing a rebuy you will usually be on the same table with the same players during the rebuy period. Any rebuys made while on that table will be chips that are still in play for you to try to get ahold of,.. goal being to try to acquire a stack of around 5500+ during the rebuy.
Sure some play rebuys with a one-bullet approach but realistically it's not the best approach for playing a rebuy tournament. Can you imagine if you were playing a rebuy and got stuck on a table where all the players only had intentions of playing it with the one-bullet approach (no initial rebuys, and no rebuys during the rebuy period). It'd suck and you'd no doubt be in terrible shape for the rest of the tourney.
I've got some friends who are regulars in the rebuy tourneys and they say they'll often rebuy 5 to 10 times. They also do quite well in them.

I wasn't overly educated about playing rebuys (still not) but have read some excellent articles about them and have watched a pretty decent 4-part training video where the commentator/player takes the viewer thru all stages of a rebuy tournament. It was quite enlightening... not just listening to what was going thru his mind but also what he was predicting in his opponents. It's changed my view on rebuys ever since.

Good analysis IMO. I know most full time (or pro) rebuy players adhere to this strategy if they are not just utilizing the build stack theory (push & rebuy until you get there). Hardly any people I know who have decent amounts of total winnings in MTTs do not play this way.

That being said, I have played a 1 unit strategy for many years (try not to go above 3 max), although when I was very active on a staking site, the investors MADE me play 3 units minimum when I was backed. You can play a no auto rebuy and addon strategy if you are patient and can get used to playing low stacked.

Can it work? I have Final Tabled the 10r on Stars, the 3r on Stars, the 0.10r on Full Tilt and 1r Dollar on Full Tilt on one unit.

Always do the double buy-in at the beginning to get full equity out of an early big hand. I'd rather stack someone who has a double stack than take half their chips.

I always take the add-on, unless I'm my table's chip-leader by an amount larger than the add-on.

I have never once used add-ons, although I believe for some people they are a great benefit. When I play rebuy and add-on tournys I try to stay away from rebuying unless I took a bad beat or made a amatuer mistake that happens here and there.

Good luck with the games.

I totally agree with Egon's analysis. It doesn't make sense to rebuy if you're going to be short stacked even with the rebuy. If you're doing well though and haven't rebought, it makes sense to do it soon since you can assume that most of your opponents are going to rebuy to increase their stacks. Why give them that chip advantage?

I will usually add on and do the 1st rebuy.

why wouldn you add on?

its more chips? isnt the goal to have lots of chips or am i missing something?

I think I have to agree with that I don't like to get in all in game pick your spots if you are going to risk all your chips. But the add on I like if they give double the chips say 3000. it can help later when blinds get big.

Follow wona's advice and you will do well. The rebuy at earlist op. gives you a stack to bully weaker players and tight nonrebuy people. You also have the ablity to make larger double and triple ups.

I would deffinately add-on, if after the Re-buy period and the first break you find yourself all in and and double up then your getting double the worth out of your chips, if for example you had 4000 chips at the break then doubled up straight after you would be on 8000 chips, however with the add-on(say 3000 chips) you would be on 14,000 after a double up, significant difference if you ask me for only $3 extra or what ever the buy in is,

It came to light the other night for me how important the add on is because i made the cash but only just, i was knocked out two hands after, i got $20 back from a $9 investment(Double rebuy at the beggining then an add-on) however had i of not rebought i would have been out before the cash positions and would have spent $6 with nothing in return!

Echoing a lot of the other advice in this thread...

Always, always add on if you are getting an overlay on your addon (i.e. more chips than the initial buyin for the same price). Unless you have a stack like a time and a half the size of 2nd place or something.

Otherwise it's all tourney dependent.

I have kind of skimmed through other replies but anyway here is mine. Personally Rebuy tourneys are my favorite. The deep stacked play makes it more skill than luck so thats why I personally like them, you can actually play some post flop rather than just play TAG and then be pretty much commited. But many people dont understand something, for example a 5$ rebuy shouldnt be treated as 5$ mtt, as a general rule of thumb i like to multiply the buy in by 7x and thats what im willing to spend in it so its like a 35$ mtt to me. At the beginning the best thing to do is to rebuy immediatly and be willing to take flips to double up, then I kind of tighten up a tad bit but still willing to take flips and usually my goal is to have 12K+ after rebuy period is over then when i add on im slightly above avg and got chips to play with.

Exactly my friend. Thats how I do it. I do not like re-buy tounaments, in my opinion it is a clownfest with people investing more money than the tourney is worth. But thanks its adds to my prizepool.

i never play rebuy and addon tournaments. i loose very much money at this kind of tournaments,...there is no poker,only luck and i usually dont have luck...if you wanna play poker,play a freezout with 10 or more $ buyin...or sng with the same buyin...