Re-buy Tournaments – Should You Go For Them?

There are not just one buy tournaments out there.  There are also re-buy tournaments.  Sometimes re-buy tournaments are worth playing, because there is a huge guarantee for small buy in.  It’s worth it – If you feel there are enough players, and enough money in the pool.  If a tournament is $100 for the buy in and the top guarantee is $100,000.  Getting that may be worth two or three hundred dollars. 

Don’t do the re-buy late into the tournament.  Do it as soon as you sit at the table.  It makes a lot of sense, because when you re-buy late in the tournament, you are doing it for the same price as you would at the beginning.  But, now there are so many chips out there it doesn’t make a difference.

It’s like being at the bottom of the mountain, and you have to catch up to everyone else climbing to the top.  You can do it, but it’s tough.  For example, Barbara Enright plays an online game that has an $11 buy in with a $10 re-buy.  She recommends getting $1500 in chips and doing the re-buy as soon as you are in.  That way if you double up you are at $3000, and if you triple up you are at $9000.  That can take you a long way to winning the $55,000 pot. 

That’s why you want to do it early.  If you didn’t re-buy in the beginning, you’d only have $4500 after tripling up.

However, in general, Barbara doesn’t like re-buy tournaments, because sometimes it’s a deep pocket contest.  If it’s a $1000 buy in and re-buy with some people re-buying 20 – 30 times over.  Other people just can’t afford that.  It defeats the purpose of the tournament.  If they keep doubling up, they can make it, but it’s tough.

Sometimes re-buy tournaments aren’t worth it, but the pot is appealing.  If you do re-buy, do it in the beginning to get an advantage.

Hear more of Barbara and Mike’s interview at http://www.2007cppc.com/#enright.