Cash Game Rebuy capped at initial max buyin or match biggest stack? (1 Viewer)

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FearlessFred

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Hello

My group currently plays micro stakes 5p/10p 100BB max buyin NHLE.

Up until now we've capped rebuys/add ons to 100BB but I'm now considering matching the biggest stack.

What are the pros and cons?
 
Match the stack: allows the game to play much bigger, more competitive, bigger edge for tougher players.

Capped: lower stacks, safer environment, more comfortable, less edge for tougher players.

We cap. Makes life easier, and the sharks are already much stronger. I run a super beginner friendly game so its a no brainier, if I was looking to recruit for a bigger game I would match half the stack or something, but for now we're good.
 
I have no issues with playing in an uncapped game but if I host or bring chips to friends and I am responsible for the bank I like capping around 200BB.
 
I think a lot depends on the skill/experience of your crew. Question - do people regularly maneuver their 100BB stacks in with geometric bet sizings, or do people get ground down a buck at a time?

If they are good at working out relative pot size vs. bets and SPR then bigger stacks could work. If they all go Oooooh when someone bets $1 because $1 is a “big” bet on any street then I don’t think it will work.

if people are splashing 5x pot then you probably need bigger blinds.
 
Match the biggest stack after 2 hours
 
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I had the same questions/concern recently.

I think the underline issue is some player are more comfortable losing more money. I don't want the players I have that aren't as comfortable to feel "short stacked"
 
Tonystark137 said:
I don't want the players I have that aren't as comfortable to feel "short stacked"
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If they’re not comfortable losing more money why would they buy in for more? Matching the stack is the gamblers way to risk more and win back previous losses.

Unless you mean you don’t want those folks to feel short because others are buying in 2-300 BB..?
 
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Kentucky said:
Unless you mean you don’t want those folks to feel short because others are buying in 2-300 BB..?
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This , most if not all of them are comfortable with buying in for 200bb and has 2-3 buy ins. It's just that I know some of my players have 5-10buy ins.

Ultimately I guess I'm trying to ensure the stakes established actually play close to the stakes and it not get dominated by players who are more comfortable with bigger. That and my more casual player comes back.

Also realize it isn't really anything I can control. Ultimately players are going to play how they want.
 
Kentucky said:
I think a lot depends on the skill/experience of your crew. Question - do people regularly maneuver their 100BB stacks in with geometric bet sizings, or do people get ground down a buck at a time?

If they are good at working out relative pot size vs. bets and SPR then bigger stacks could work. If they all go Oooooh when someone bets $1 because $1 is a “big” bet on any street then I don’t think it will work.

if people are splashing 5x pot then you probably need bigger blinds.
Click to expand...

Tonystark137 said:
Also realize it isn't really anything I can control. Ultimately players are going to play how they want.
Click to expand...

Yeah it really depends on how the people in your game play.
Playing match the stack will definitely put a lot more chips on the table. Some guys might then start making bigger preflop raises. Some guys won’t. Some guys who are behind might start straddling more. The table’s gonna do what it’s gonna do. The problems arise when everybody isn’t on the same page. And you can’t control that.
 
There are books that discuss this topic, match stack allows someone to implore a Martingale system, and to me thats not poker.

I prefer my game not be about money, its PLO and a max buy-in / rebuy keeps the game friendly, .5/.5 w/ 100 buy ins, and 1300 cash outs is big enough for me.

Match stack also seems to be common in raked games.
 
Many players will simply not play in any game that allows matching the big stack. I'm one of them. For my games, the buy-in is fixed for the evening.

If I've put in hours of work to build my stack, I don't want some imbecile to rebuy an equal stack and hit some ridiculously lucky under 1% shot against me...
 
It sounds like matching the big stack won't work for our game. Everyone plays quite friendly and doesn't think about stack size, spr etc.

The question came up because a player added on for 100b when they had 25-30bb remaining. Rather than counting the pennies and transferring back the balance to make a 100bb stack I just let it slide.

Half big stack might work for us
 
FearlessFred said:
It sounds like matching the big stack won't work for our game. Everyone plays quite friendly and doesn't think about stack size, spr etc.

The question came up because a player added on for 100b when they had 25-30bb remaining. Rather than counting the pennies and transferring back the balance to make a 100bb stack I just let it slide.

Half big stack might work for us
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It's a good strategy for a good cash player to match the biggest stack at the table, because then you're never wasting a perfect opportunity. When you have AA over KK or boat over nut flush or whatever, if the guy you're beating has more chips than you, then you can't win all his chips. A lot of guys will always want to be close to the big stack so they can maximize their big wins. (Of course you're also maximizing your potential losses too.)
 
Pros: More Gamble
Cons: More Gamble

That's really it. If your players get uncomfortable when stacks are very large, or need protecting from themselves match the stack can be a problem. If your players want more gamble and don't like the low stakes it's an easy way to bump it up. I generally don't allow it, because only myself and maybe one other regular would do it and I still can't convince people that big stack bullying isn't really a thing in cash games.
 
FearlessFred said:
It sounds like matching the big stack won't work for our game. Everyone plays quite friendly and doesn't think about stack size, spr etc.

The question came up because a player added on for 100b when they had 25-30bb remaining. Rather than counting the pennies and transferring back the balance to make a 100bb stack I just let it slide.

Half big stack might work for us
Click to expand...
I'm leaning this way with my game too, half of big stack with some rounding. If big stack has 113, not going make someone rebuy for 56.5.
 
FearlessFred said:
The question came up because a player added on for 100b when they had 25-30bb remaining. Rather than counting the pennies and transferring back the balance to make a 100bb stack I just let it slide.
Click to expand...
This came up in a game I run and we made it a rule - if you get below 30BB you can add on for a full stack. It’s not a hard limit but usually people notice when they only have a few chips left and we don’t insist they get totally felted before buying back in. The only hard rule is you have to add on before you see your hand :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 

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