Tourney How many rebuys do typically allow? (3 Viewers)

[ramo_and]

Hi,

When you host tournaments, how many rebuys do you typically allow? Does it differ between STT and MTT?

For a T25 10K stack would you do the rebuys with these denominations?

2 x 500
4 x 1000
1 x 5000

Or just simply 2 x 5000?

 

[Roslindale]

We allow 1 re-buy or top-off.. not both

 

[Sap]

This is a good resource:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/re-buy-or-not-re-buy.95310/

I like to have 1 rebuy per person up to a certain blind level (usually around 1.5-2 hours)

Denomination may depend on how early they rebuy. If it’s within 30 mins of starting, then a stack closer to the original may be better. However, if they rebuy after 2 hours in, giving them 2 x 5000s to make change at the table seems good.

I also usually prepare enough chips for 50% of the field to rebuy, although it usually won’t be that high, closer to 25-33%.

 

[upNdown]

Personally I don’t care for rebuys but I see how they can make sense for home game tournaments. So when I run a tournament I’ll set it up so that two rebuys or addons are allowed per player, but I’ll make their cost and the initial buy-in cost low (compared to the stakes we’re used to playing) so that it’s almost understood that everybody will be in for all three.
And I just use the big chips for rebuys/addons. I’ve already got the amounts of smaller chips all calculated out for color-ups, so I’ll use chips big enough that they won’t be coming off the table.

 

[KHarp1]

Our monthly tournament usually plays 27-30 people, is a 30k T100 structure that allows for 1 rebuy per person, however, there are only 5 rebuys available. After those 5 have been used there are no more rebuys. This keeps the early round bingo shoves way down. The host of this game had set up a nice structure that encourages good play that runs deep. The last few have ran about 7 hours, and, even after I was out I hung around because the play was really good.

 

[detroitdad]

Typically one rebuy per person. If it is a one table event the rebuy. Ends at a certain time. If it is a two table event it ends when the final table is formed.

My preference for revised is 0, or unlimited.

 

[upNdown]

there are only 5 rebuys available.

Does that create a dynamic where, after 3-4 rebuys have been sold, the short stacks are racing each other to double up or bust?

 

[inapinch]

our style is a bit unorthodox, but we don’t have limits on amount of rebuys, and we don’t have a cutoff time for rebuys. At some point it just becomes unwise to rebuy (usually after about 1.5hrs of play).
We have between 13-17 players usually, and most are family. We alternate between T5 and T25 chip setups.

 

[KHarp1]

At times it does. There are times when the announcement of only one rebuy left, someone that is severely short stacked will make a shove so they can rebuy, but, I'd rather have that than know there were unlimited rebuy's and that I might be facing bingo for the first two hours.

 

[detroitdad]

At times it does. There are times when the announcement of only one rebuy left, someone that is severely short stacked will make a shove so they can rebuy, but, I'd rather have that than know there were unlimited rebuy's and that I might be facing bingo for the first two hours.

I love bingo

 

[KHarp1]

I love bingo

I do to, in a moderate stakes cash game.

 

[detroitdad]

I do to, in a moderate stakes cash game.

Unlimited rebuys in a tournament makes me feel like I'm playing a cash game lol

 

[MrCatPants]

We do one max rebuy, and a rebuy punishes the points you earn for working towards the league championship. Use the seating chip as the rebuy chip to keep easy track of everything.

 

[idoru99]

We allow one rebuy or top off as well. Some of our players drive quite a distance to play, and we didn't want someone to play for 10 minutes only to have to jump back in their car. We tried unlimited rebuys for awhile, but that got a bit crazy for our group.

 

[Ainton]

1 rebuy/top off

Most times I hand out 5xT1000 and 1xT5000 for a full rebuy

 

[doublebooyah85]

Unlimited rebuy until 1st break. At that time you can also do an add on. Same chip count and price as a rebuy.

You want to prevent people with low chip counts keep shoving before the break bc they think the rebuys end. If they know they can add on at break you won’t ruin the game leading into break.

Most people only do the add on if they are super low.

 

[Nine_high]

Hi,

When you host tournaments, how many rebuys do you typically allow? Does it differ between STT and MTT?

For a T25 10K stack would you do the rebuys with these denominations?

2 x 500
4 x 1000
1 x 5000

Or just simply 2 x 5000?

It kinda depends on the nature of the event, but generally I like tournaments where rebuys are allowed unlimited up to a certain level.

I don't think number of tables matters too much unless there's a time constraint, assuming there's a director or someone who can manage these things if needed.

I would give rebuys with the largest denominations practical. In your example I would probably do 10x 1,000 or maybe 5x 1,000 and 1x 5,000 later on. Two 5ks only seems like it could be tough to break a chip when the average stack is barely more that twice that amount.

 

[Grimace]

My home game is a t25 10k starting stack with unlimited rebuys till the first break. Usually 3 levels 90 mins. At that point a add on is offered. Usually generates a lot of early action before the rebuy period ends and we tighten up a little. Has worked well for quite a while. Rebuys are just 2 5k chips.

 

[SendThatStack]

Usually unlimited. Have done a 1r+1a that was fun too. Unlimited gets a bigger prize pool though.

 

[Mojo1312]

IMO, add-ons are for cash games, not tournaments.

Re-buys are great for home games because they open the door for players to come back into the game for a defined period of time and they inflate the prize pool. Top heavy structures that pay out a generous portion of the field incentivizes players to buy back into the game when felted. As a case in point, the house would keep $75 in the $50 thirteen to fifteen player tournament I use to play in. It was not uncommon to have a couple of players in for three bullets - $150. The pay-out structure was 45/30/15/10.

A third of the money would come from re-buys. Twenty-one buy-ins would generate a prize pool of $975 after the house took out it's share. For simplicity purposes, the host would round up or down so the pay-outs were divisible by $25. Typically, players finishing on the bottom half of the pay scale were the ones shorted by this formula. A tournament with 21 total buy-ins would pay out: $450 for first, $300 for second, $150 for third and $75 for fourth. Which begs the question, why not buy back in when you can potentially win $450 or $300?

That brings us to the one consideration casual players tend to overlook to the benefit of stronger players when it comes to re-buys in home games and that is the law of diminishing returns. A player who is in for $150 and is lucky enough to finish in first will win three times his $150 investment and twice his investment for second. He breaks even at third and recoups half with a fourth place finish. Conversely, a player who finishes in the money with his original buy-in respectively wins 9x, 6x, 3x and 1.5x his money. Eliminate re-buys from the equation and that same player who won $400 on his $50 investment for his first place finish now nets $250. (Effectively, second place money.)

You asked.

 

[philhut]

Unlimited rebuy until 1st break. At that time you can also do an add on. Same chip count and price as a rebuy.

You want to prevent people with low chip counts keep shoving before the break bc they think the rebuys end. If they know they can add on at break you won’t ruin the game leading into break.

Most people only do the add on if they are super low.

This is exactly how I like my tournaments...t25 base with btw 3-5k starting stacks, unlimited rebuys and a 1x addon at the colour up of the t25 chips. Blinds 25/50,50/100,75/150,(color up t25's and add-on/end of unlimited rebuys.)
Rebuys are allowed when players are below 600ncv , to zero of course.

Works well for a single table or multi

 

[Gunnar]

My favourite format is second chance, bigger stack and one re-entry (preferably with a new seat)

For multi rebuy tournament then Add-on is a must and be able to forfeit your stack at the break if you end below starting stack.

My Berzerk Bounty Madness tournament is 40$
First buy in 20k stack 30$ in prize pool 10$ bounty
Second buy in 25k stack 20/20$
Third+ 30k stack 10/30$

Yes you can rebuy often but you’re painting a target at your back.

 

[nortyjr7557]

I go to 2 local tournament style games 1 there is no rebuys (which I like) and the other has unlimited rebuys before 1st break

 

[dpeks13]

I think everyone in my games likes unlimited for the first X blinds, depending on when we start it up. Most of the people busting out early rebuy, and it gets everyone with a shorter stack to be more aggressive on the last round before rebuys close

 

[raynmanas]

our style is a bit unorthodox, but we don’t have limits on amount of rebuys, and we don’t have a cutoff time for rebuys. At some point it just becomes unwise to rebuy (usually after about 1.5hrs of play).

this is exactly where i have landed for my friendly games, for the same reason.

 

[JustinInMN]

I usually limit rebuys to 80-90 minutes or whenever the first break is on a single table nightly 4-hour design tournament. For a multi table, I may go for more like 120-150 mins. I don't limit rebuys per player unless I were to have a tournament so huge I would be concerned about the constraints of my set. In my case I might limit to two rebuys per player if it's a 20+ player tournament (never happened yet.)

 

[lane_robert_s]

We are a little more liberal with rebuys and add ons. Our tournaments are about 10 to 20 players and the buy in is $25. Tournament usually lasts 4 to 5 hours. Unlimited rebuys before the first break (one hour) for anyone that hits 25% of the original stack, plus 2 add ons at the break. Yep. You red that right, 2 add ons for anyone who wants it.

 

[BGinGA]

I have ran and/or played in tournaments with a wide array of re-buy options, ranging from 'none' to 'unlimited for the duration of the entire event', and just about everything in-between. Imo, all/most of the various options have merit, depending on other tournament variables and the intent behind their implementation.

Our group eventually settled on four re-buy variants:

League events -- these are limited to 16 players / entries, with one re-buy per player up to a total of 16 entries. (So a field of 13 starting players would allow for up to 3 total re-buys, while a starting field of 16 players would allow none.) This creates a narrower range of entries/money across all events which helps ensure that all league tournaments are basically 'equal'. When available, re-buys are allowed (must be felted) for the first xx levels until the re-buy stack size is < 25bb (usually ~90 minutes into a 5+ hour event).

Standard events -- these are stand-alone NLHE tournaments with $40-ish entry and a no-ante format, lasting about 4+ hours. One re-buy per player allowed for the first six blind levels; stack surrender is allowed. Players are issued a re-buy token which allows purchase of a re-buy (felted or stack-surrender); unused re-buy tokens may be redeemed for a free add-on at end of re-buy period (= to ~20% of starting stack).

Circus events -- these are more volatile stand-alone $40-ish entry formats (typically pot-limit) where larger pots are the norm. Up to four 1/2-stack re-buys for 1/2-entry cost per player (current stack must be <= 1/2 of starting stack) for first hour; players can buy two 1/2-stacks if felted. Players are issued four re-buy tokens, each allowing purchase of a single 1/2-stack as noted above.

Fun/crazy events -- these are low-cost tournaments ($5-$20) designed to encourage loose play and multiple re-buys. Unlimited re-buys until the field size reaches the money payouts. This format also works well for charity events, especially if combined with low-cost add-ons.

We also run occasional no-rebuy events, plus some events with pre-paid reloads (which are a different animal altogether).

 

[brewdawg]

When I ran a monthly scholarship tournament we allowed unlimited rebuys until the 1st break, normally about an hour in. The main reason for this was that a lot of the people were driving 30+ minutes to get there and we didn't want someone out early due to a bad beat. The other reason was that it built a larger pot, which normally translated into more donated for the scholarships.

 

[ramo_and]

Thanks everyone for your replies I conclude that there are different ways of doing this and I guess we have to see what works for us. So far we've done unlimited rebuys and at some point it's just not worth buying in anymore. If we'll do a larger tournament it might me good with some limit, either unlimited until first break or 1 re-buy per player.