Content: >
Re-Buy Tournament Strategy
You see these kinds of poker tournaments all over the place. It doesn’t matter what poker room you play in online you will encounter the re-buy tournament. Re-buys are exactly as they appear. You can buy-in and the “re-buy” multiple times usually for a specified period of time before the actual re-buy period ends. This usually takes place after 1 hour. Once the re-buy period is over you will usually have what is referred to as an Add-On. Add-ons typically cost the same as the re-buy but offer you up to 3x’s the amount of your starting chip stack. Others allow for smaller amounts or just the same amount of chips you started with. There are multiple re-buy tournaments and there are single re-buy tournaments and several hybrids in between. We are going to talk about how to take on the re-buy tournament to give you the best opportunity to win the big money.
The Purpose
By now you should realize that playing poker tournaments is not about cashing. When you enter a poker tournament you play it to win it and at the very least finish in the top three spots where most of the money can be found. A re-buy poker tournament epitomizes the reasoning behind that thinking. Although re-buy tournaments are played live they tend to take a lot of time and tie up poker rooms for hours on end. This is why you do not see re-buy tournaments played as much as other types of poker tournaments in a casino. Playing online poker creates an entirely different set of circumstances. With online poker rooms being capable of expanding or contracting at the whim of its players re-buy tournaments are one of the most popular forms of online tournament around. Re-buys are also extremely profitable if you are fortunate enough to make it to the final table.
The key is being able to fight through what is literally thousands of other players looking to do the same thing as you are. That means you need to be smart, lucky and have a plan should you be fortunate enough not to get caught up in the jet wash that comes with this kind of volatile poker tournament. If you play to win the spoils are great. If you have no patience and are subject to boredom you do not want to play in this type of tournament because you will typically be playing for a very long time.
Re-buy Period
During the re-buy period you will not be playing poker in the traditional sense of the world. What you will be doing is looking for opportunities to get your chips in the middle in large multi-player pots. Why? Because it is all about accumulating chips as quickly as possible during the re-buy period. Sure, playing premium hands like Pocket Aces or Pocket Kings even better but don’t be surprised to see three, four, five or even six or seven people calling your pre-flop raise or even re-raising you all-in. During the re-buy period you are not going to make standard raises. You are typically going to shove your chips in the middle and hope to drag back a huge pot once the debris clears. You will notice players going all-in with hands as weak as [2][3] sometimes. Usually this happens in a large multi-way pot.
Why are so many players involved in these pots?
Because good re-buy players are always going to be prepared to re-buy at least 10 times during the re-buy period in order to accumulate enough chips to make a run at the money. Time is of the essence as well. Once that one hour re-buy period is over and the add-on is given you are now playing poker for the duration. If you do not have at least an average chip stack after the re-buy and add-on period you are in big trouble in most cases. Sure, the blinds will be relatively small to you still but the larger stacks will take advantage of your small stature and take risks against you that they would not take against players with the same size stack. So if you are not willing to invest the bankroll into playing these tournaments properly it is probably best to stay on the rail.
Hand Selection
Your hand selection during the re-buy period should be anything from suited connectors to Pocket Aces. When you see a multi-way pot full of players all-in during the re-buy period and you look down and see any pocket pair or suited connectors you need to be involved in that pot and get your chips in the middle. Yes, you are looking to get lucky here! Basically you are going to need to throw all of the fundamentals out of the window during the re-buy period. The re-buy period is a sanctioned crap shoot and you are going to have to take your shots at it and win a few in order to have a legitimate chance of winning the tournament. Remember, you can and should be prepared to re-buy several times if necessary. You can always slow down once you have accumulated what you believe to be enough chips. Usually, you are going to need to at least triple your starting stack before the add-in order to be competitive. Once you have done that you can throttle down, take your add-on and get ready to play poker when the re-buy period is over and the play slows down.
Summary
Re-buy tournaments are not for the faint of heart. You are going to need courage before and after the re-buy period in order to make the final table and give yourself a chance to win one. The bottom line is that you are going to have to take more risk than in any other tournament type in order to win a re-buy tournament. For those that can take the risk and not become a casualty the rewards are great. Good luck!
Curtis Mayfield III
|
|
Now with a 100% up to $600 Bonus. User bonus code: STARS600.
 Visit PokerStars
100% up to $500. Bonus Code: "poker500" + $1000 Freeroll when you make your first deposit.
Visit Everest Poker
$100 up to $500 + $ 100,000 Freeroll. Casino and the biggest range of Sportsbetting offers available to.
Visit bwin Poker
Exclusive 100% up to $1600 Poker bonus + 2 Free tournament tickets when you make your first deposit
Visit Betsson
Exclusive 100% up to $500 Poker Bonus. Deposit and play for grand prices like Sony Vaio, PS3.
Visit Titan Poker
100% bonus up to 1.000$! VIP program and exclusive poker freerolls for new players.
Visit Betway
$600 in bonus with a minimum deposit of $20. Qualify for live tournaments like EPT and WSOPE.
Visit Betfair
100% bonus up to $400. If you like to go fishing, this is the site for you.
Visit PacificPoker
POKER NEWSLETTER
Get the latest poker news
Register for the PokerSense.com newsletter, and get the latest poker bonuses, news and other hot offers from the poker world straight to your mailbox.
|
