Tourney Rebuy or freezeout tournaments?

[RichMahogany]

I've always played home tourney freezouts only but played in a tourney with rebuys last week. I was already planning a few future chip sets with rebuys in mind and am curious about what others prefer and why.

Let's get the discussion started...

 

[SirPurr]

I personally prefer rebuy tournaments over freeze-out tournaments and stick to them online, as well as in home-games.

It´s more action packed than freeze-outs and offers a greater value for experienced players.

 

[bauss]

I prefer freezeouts, because they don't last as long as rebuys. I never play any rebuy tournaments, because I feel they drag on forever, unless the payout is really good.

 

[dowdyrich]

Yeh rebuy tournaments seem to last for a long time (at least the two I have played). I do like the fact that chip stacks can be built up pretty quickly due to the rebuys. I guess it just depends on the mood I am in, but typically I am not a fan of rebuys.

 

[krafticus]

I currently run a freezeout tournament; however, I allow a single rebuy. Any more, and people go a little crazy and the game would last forever. Of course, I start everyone with ~ 250 BB too. Cash games always follow.

 

[RichMahogany]

I currently run a freezeout tournament; however, I allow a single rebuy. Any more, and people go a little crazy and the game would last forever. Of course, I start everyone with ~ 250 BB too. Cash games always follow.

You bring up a good point. I prefer deepstack(200 BB+) freezeouts but am warming up to the idea of starting with 100 BB and allowing 2-3 rebuys/add-on to allow for looser play during the early levels.

I played in a home game recent that started T3500, 25/50, with unlimited rebuys in the first two levels which totaled an hour and a half! 45 mins for the first two levels sounded insane but made for alot fun, loose play until the rebuy period ended. It probably helped that I won(chopped)

 

[UW85]

I had a HORRIBLE first experience playing in a casino tournament with unending rebuys (didn't even know what a rebuy was at the time) -- so I now have an aversion to them! But I do run a larger fundraiser each year for a buddy who lost his son to cancer and we allow a limited rebuy simply because it raises more money for the cause. Other than that, freezeout all the way!

 

[bauss]

Yeh rebuy tournaments seem to last for a long time (at least the two I have played). I do like the fact that chip stacks can be built up pretty quickly due to the rebuys. I guess it just depends on the mood I am in, but typically I am not a fan of rebuys.

I never looked at it like that, because you might be able to sit back and play tight once you get your rebuy, and addon depending on the structure. I might look into playing more rebuys if they have a large prizepool so it'll be worth my time.

 

[Far_Mur_Jo]

While I don't have much experience in tournament play, ergo I prefer cash games, out of the other two options freezeout seems like a better choice if you want a fair tournament and rebuy is the way to go, when you are organizing the game for profit.

 

[neoneo88]

If you're just starting out organising tournaments, I'd recommend starting with a crash-bang-wallop turbo rebuy, simply because the games are fun and sociable whilst also quick to finish (assuming like most live poker, your tournaments are in the evenings).

I've seen new poker clubs mess up structures big time and have two players playing heads-up with 450BB stacks at 2 in the morning!

 

[Lokitns]

I'm generally averted to rebuys, I feel like people play a lot more loose with them making them harder to get a full read on. But if I'm really REALLY amped to play, just got a bonus or whatever from work, money to burn, I love em. Like a lot of people said if you're having a good night it's a great way to stack the chips in your favor early on as well.

 

[neoneo88]

I'm generally averted to rebuys, I feel like people play a lot more loose with them making them harder to get a full read on. But if I'm really REALLY amped to play, just got a bonus or whatever from work, money to burn, I love em. Like a lot of people said if you're having a good night it's a great way to stack the chips in your favor early on as well.

Depends what kind of tournament it is though. If you've got friends around and you want everyone to get involved and have a good time then the last thing you want is people busting and feeling left out. The tournaments that I've always felt work best are the ones which have quite a quick and steep structure after a break which enables a good hour or two of play before the majority of players start busting.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

Our league used to do freezeouts, and we introduced a single rebuy during the first 10 levels (2.5 hours) this year, since it provided more play for everyone. It also allowed people who would otherwise leave early to enjoy their evening a bit more. Some players would bust out on the second hand and be gone...bit of a waste of a night. At least this way, they can choose to stay around if they wish. Those who don't rebuy get to cash in the rebuy chip for 1 BB (1k) at the end of the rebuy period.

While there have been a few grumbles from freezeout proponents that they would have finished higher overall if it wasn't for those meddling rebuys, it has been well received. There is a feeling that the rebuy period is too long, though, so we will experiment a bit with a 1-hour rebuy period over the summer.

Dave

 

[Mr. Cheese]

Not to dredge up an old thread... but...

My tourneys were always freezout for the last 8 years until this year. I was hosting a game for my buddies bachelor party and he busted early so I said we'd allow rebuys that game. Everyone really liked having that option so now I allow 2 rebuys per player within the first hour. At the end of the hour everyone has the option of doing a half starting chip stack add-on. So far everyone is really loving the new structure.

 

[MrWitti]

I voted rebuy. Players drive sometimes up to an hour to get to my homegame. Therefor I allow rebuy for the first 6-8 levels. So they can at least play two hours. After the break the blinds get a bit steeper to give more weight to the luck factor and weaker players have a bigger chance to cash. Once my crowds game gets more solid I'll introduce maybe freezeout with more flat structure.

 

[p5woody]

We play dealer choice cash games for 2 hours and then kick off the tournament. We play for low stakes ($25 + $5 bounty tournaments). It is about friendship and bragging rights, not about making money. We have rebuys for the first 2 blind levels, each blind level is 30 minutes so if anybody gets unlucky in the first hour they can rebuy back in. After the rebuy period is over everybody is warmed up and the real poker begins.

 

[TexRex]

I prefer freezeouts, but I don't mind re-buys. I host a monthly game and it's a freezeout for one reason -- I have some players who will not play re-buys. Those who prefer re-buys (and by my polling it's about a 50/50 split), will play freezeouts. Most of those who prefer freezeouts will play re-buys, but somewhere between 1/6 and 1/3 will not. I didn't know that in our group until I polled them.

Some games are a single re-buy, some are unlimited up to a point, and some are unlimited letting logic decide when it's no longer worth it to re-buy. If they allow re-buys, I prefer one of the last two formats because it puts more money in the prize pool.

One thing I would recommend is polling players and finding out what they prefer and what they will tolerate. You can't ever make everyone happy, but if you could make most players happy most of the time, you should have players who will continue to come. You could also mix it up -- have re-buys one time and freezeouts the next.

 

[ReeseChip]

I prefer freezeouts over rebuys. However even when I play rebuys I never find myself doing it lol. If I bust I just pack it up and call it a day.

 

[Whiteside]

My tournaments are freezeouts but because it's mostly a social event I make it a double-chance tournament. Or in other words I stagger the delivery of the chips so it's 1000 at the start, 1000 after another 90 minutes. It just makes sure that no-one busts out so early that it completely ruins their evening.