Pros and Cons of Rebuy Tournaments

Re-buys have their perks and their drawbacks. Some players absolutely love re-buys while other players run from them. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of re-buy tournaments.

Put Your Bankroll to Work (+)
If you have a big bankroll, you can really put your extra funds to work in a Texas Hold'em re-buy tournament. You can be aggressive from the get go and try to accumulate a nice chip lead. If your aggressive strategy backfires, you can allow yourself a certain number of re-buys, and you’ll be right back in the mix. When you’re bankroll is large enough to support additional add-ons, you must always take these extra chip boosts.

But I Don’t Have a Bankroll (-)
Conversely, if your bankroll is meager, re-buys may not be for you. If you enter a re-buy with the notion that you won’t be buying more chips, you will be playing at a disadvantage.

The Prize Pool Is Bigger (+)
When you play re-buy in texas hold em tourneys, the prize pool will end up swelling considerably. As more and more players re-buy, the prize structure will continue to increase. If you manage to play well with your initial buy- in, you’ll have the opportunity to win a lot more money than you would have if you just played a regular freezeout tournament.

Endless Re-buys (-)
For undisciplined players, re-buys can be a bottomless pit of lost cash. For players that that have the bankroll to purchase more chips, re-buys can be very advantageous. But you still need limits. Sure, the prize pool is going to be increased because of re-buys, but if you keep going broke and you continue to purchase more and more chips, eventually you're going to have to rethink your strategy. Allow yourself a certain number of re-buys when you enter the tournament. After you’ve used your allotted re-buys, consider calling it a day. You don’t want to keep throwing more and more funds into a losing effort.

Forget the Fees (+)
When you re-buy chips, you won’t have to pay the additional tournament fee. In order to get more chips, you only have to pay the initial buy-in. This can make re-buys a better value than other tournaments. By not having to pay extra tournament taxes, you can save money that you would have spent on a future tournament buy-in fees.

Bad Beats (-)
Because loose players with large bankrolls have the opportunity to re-buy after they’ve gone bust, you’ll end up seeing your fair share of bad beats early in the tourney. Keep in mind that during the re-buy period, you will likely be up against players that bet big on drawing hands. If you understand that the tables are going to be super-loose in the early stages, you can protect yourself against bad beats and suckouts from reckless players.

If you’re new to texas holdem poker, play other poker tournaments before you start entering re-buys. Learn the texas holdem rules and familiarize yourself with the nuances of tournament play. Learn how to switch gears in different stages of the tourney. Practice wielding a big stack and gain experience coming from behind with only a limited number of chips. If you must play re-buys, be prepared to re-buy from the get go and add on at the break. If you don’t take advantage of these opportunities to purchase extra chips, you’ll be giving your opponents an edge.