Man you guys are pessimists
Rebuy/Addon tourneys are a big part of the overall game. Pros play them all the time. I can't believe people would complain about crappy players rebuying 10 times. How great is that? You wait for your opportunity, you seize it. Wait until you have the nuts during the first hour...then capitalize on the idiots.
As for when to rebuy or add on...Greg Raymer says you rebuy or add on whenever you have the opportunity to rebuy or add on. It's just good business. It doesn't affect your expectation at all. Let's say it's $10 to get in and $10 to rebuy....when you first bought in you were spending $10 to win say $1000 for first...a profit of $990. When you rebuy you're spending $20 to win $1010, so a profit of $990. But now you have twice as many chips (if you do it right away)...so you're twice as likely to hit it.
If you're not GOOD or if you're short on cash, then you don't play these. But if you are confident in your skills and have a good sized bankroll, the add on doesn't hurt you and in fact helps.
Even if I have $6k when the add on happens....I'll pay the add-on to get another $1500. Again your expectation doesn't change much, but you have a 25% increase in stack.
NOT TO MENTION, some sites have rebuys/addons without adding to the rake. So if it is $100+10 to get in and $100 straight up to rebuy, your original stack of (in this example to be easy) $1000 in chips cost you 11 cents/chip. if you rebuy another $1000 for $100, each chip now cost you 10.5 cents/chip including your original $1000, so you've actually MADE about $5. (See Greg Raymer's "To Rebuy or Not To Rebuy" thread by searching Google for "To rebuy or not to rebuy"). If you're good, you'll win more often with more chips and that's a bonus PLUS you're technically making $5/tourney (on a $100+$10...obviously it's about 50 cents in a $10+1 but that's the same percentage) by rebuying vs not rebuying.
If someone said to you, hey...you can play this tourney for 12 cents/chip or you can play it for 10 cents/chip against other people SOME of whom are paying 12...you'd play
I'm playing a $60 MT this weekend with $50 rebuys for first half hour then $50 add on after 1 hour.
I plan on sitting down, handing $110 to the TD and doubling up my stack from moment one (which is allowed in this particular tourney..most require you to dip below your starting amount...in which case I would rebuy the minute I pay a blind).
And so you know..if you're on
party poker...you have to have less than starting amount to rebuy...BUT, if you're chips are in front of you, they DONT COUNT.
So if you're all in with $4000 and have the absolute nuts, you can rebuy while they're out there and get another $1500. Just a little programming bug I thought I'd share.