Tourney What is the advantage of add-ons in home games? (1 Viewer)

[Preditor]

Question regarding add-ons that allow players to exceed the initial starting sack.

On their surface, I don't really like the idea all that much. I don't really like "pay to play" after the initial buy-in or re-buys. It seems like it allows people more flush with cash to buy their way to the final table.

At my game, I allow one re-buy OR half-stack add-on, but player's stacks can never exceed the original starting stack of 10K, and they forfeit any chips beyond that. So the "add-on" really functions more as a "low-stack surrender" at that point.

But I know a lot of people have an add-on option that allows players a bump beyond their original starting stacks.

What - if anything - am I missing regarding those types of add-ons?

 

[BPTDirector]

add one past the normal starting amount are allowed in Vegas and usually the add on price is dedicated to the dealers. At least that’s my experience.

 

[BPTDirector]

add ons - I hate spell correct.

 

[MrBoosh]

Add ons can help to add to the prize pool. We don't usually do add ons in our tournaments. I don't want players to feel obligated that they will have to add on and spend more money to just to have an equal starting stack as everyone else. We offer rebuys up until the first break but just no add ons.

 

[Jimulacrum]

I run a tournament league that uses add-ons to help bolster funding for the season-end final event. They're not straight add-ons; you pay 5 to spin a wheel on an app that gives you 1K, 2K, or 3K during the first break and 2K, 4K, or 6K during the second break. (Net effect is +2K and +4K on average per add-on, respectively.)

For context, the tournament buy-in is 20 + 10, with the 10 going to the final.

Is it the greatest thing in the world? Meh. The worst thing? Also meh. But it does help bring in extra money for the final, and so far only one person has complained—the same ornery old woman who whinges about everything (and she does sometimes buy the add-ons herself, despite bitching about it).

I see people's arguments against it, though; what we have now is a compromise from the previous format: 20 + 10 to enter, plus 2 for bounties, plus 1 for a spin at each break (for far fewer chips), plus a half-stack add-on for 10 at the first break, plus option to rebuy for 20 if you busted before the first break. Several players objected to this along the same lines you're saying, that it lets the deeper pockets buy their way past people with less gambling money. So I cut back on and restructured it to set max out of pocket to 40.

I can still see the same argument against the current format. Some folks just prefer a normal freezeout.

 

[ngmcs8203]

I encourage addons since people who play seem to be stingy with rebuys. I want to prize pool to be larger in my hosted tournaments and an additional $20 into a $60 buyin tourney per player isn’t crazy. Usually we get about 9/10 people adding on with maybe 1/10 rebuying.

 

[BGinGA]

Add-ons are merely one way to increase the prize pool without increasing the initial buy-in amount. Making it optional (vs just adding the chips initially coupled with a higher buy-in amount) actually adds a strategic component to tournaments.

It's up to the individual players to determine the value (if any) of increasing their stack size by the amount of the add-on chips offered for the cost of those chips.

In my experience, really large stacks tend to not purchase add-ons (the chips are not needed), and really small stacks tend to not purchase add-ons either (not enough add-on chips offered to make a significant difference).

The real value of an add-on tends to be mostly for the middle-sized stacks, bumping their stack size into a more comfortable range that can 1) take better advantage of the remaining smaller stacks and 2) compete more effectively vs the larger stacks.

 

[MrBoosh]

I run a tournament league that uses add-ons to help bolster funding for the season-end final event.

I have never thought of using add ons to raise funds for our Main Event. I appreciate all the different perspectives from everyone on add ons. @TravNasty and I had some great discussions on this today and I think we will implement add ons in future tournaments with the money going towards extra bonuses and prizes awarded at our Main Event evening. This does seem like a great way to raise funding for the league without raising the league's dues.

 

[DeeVee8]

Our group uses add-ons for a season Championship. 12k entry with a 3k add-on for a lesser price. All Add-on monies go to season championship, which is a freeroll. Every entry and re-buy has an add-on available.

 

[iLogik]

The home tourney I go to, we do 15$ entry and 5$ for the tourney pot. We do point system for the year. End of year whoever has the most points wins the tourney pot.

 

[Moxie Mike]

Add-ons are merely one way to increase the prize pool without increasing the initial buy-in amount. Making it optional (vs just adding the chips initially coupled with a higher buy-in amount) actually adds a strategic component to tournaments.

It's up to the individual players to determine the value (if any) of increasing their stack size by the amount of the add-on chips offered for the cost of those chips.

In my experience, really large stacks tend to not purchase add-ons (the chips are not needed), and really small stacks tend to not purchase add-ons either (not enough add-on chips offered to make a significant difference).

The real value of an add-on tends to be mostly for the middle-sized stacks, bumping their stack size into a more comfortable range that can 1) take better advantage of the remaining smaller stacks and 2) compete more effectively vs the larger stacks.

+1 for juicing the prize pool. It also extends the tournament making play a little less crapshooty for a bit longer. Our tournaments are designed to run 5.5 - 6 hrs and rarely run long.

In the Moxie League, the first-break add-on is $30 for an additional 30k in chips (100% of which goes to the prize pool), which works out to 30 BBs when play resumes. I also allow (and encourage) players to pre-pay for their add on when the game starts to make the accounting easier... 80% of players do and the ones that don't are just hoping to run good to where they don't feel they need it - but they usually end up buying it.

The add on also serves a secondary purpose - any player who volunteers to serve as dedicated dealer while playing get their add on for free - sort of a 'thank you' for playing while at a disadvantage.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Although I am not a fan, the players like them. The main reason is to build a bigger pot.

 

[PokerJoe747]

We recently got rid of add-ons primarily as we wanted to simplify the hosting responsibilities. We increased the buy-in removed rebuys and add-ons.

However, everyone gets 1 rebuy chip with entry and if they don’t use it it converts to bonus chips after break.

 

[Preditor]

We recently got rid of add-ons primarily as we wanted to simplify the hosting responsibilities. We increased the buy-in removed rebuys and add-ons.

However, everyone gets 1 rebuy chip with entry and if they don’t use it it converts to bonus chips after break.

Curious about the last part. Do they still have to pay to convert it to a bonus chip?

 

[PokerJoe747]

 

[PokerJoe747]

View attachment 1251432

Here is how we do it..we use to have a lower buyin with rebuys and add ons. It was a nightmare to operate efficiently as we normal have 27 to 30 people. To reduce collection of cash and distribution of chips throughout we front load it.

We had a ‘rebuy’ chip made which is given with the initial stack and one ambassador at each table has the extra chips at there table. So if used as a rebuy they get 15k without getting up. Then at break if unused we distribute the 25k and take there chip which is pretty efficient.

We wanted folks who are more casual to play and if they get out early they still have one more chance while also incentivizing good play with extra for not using it.

It also greatly reduces because we centralized the collection of cash at the beginning and the exchange of chips is pretty easy.

The pot is also super easy to calculate because # of players multiplied by $60 is the cash we should have. When rebuys and add on during the tourney with 27 to 30 players you almost need someone to not play to act as TD or we found the breaks were longer than desired.

 

[PokerJoe747]

 

[Grimalkin]

I’m doing the rebuy/reload chip idea next tournament and will see how it goes. Can “rebuy” if you get felted first 2hr. Or “reload” if you last up until the 2hr mark.

Although I don’t agree with giving “reloads” or those that don’t get felted, more chips than those that have to use the rebuy/reload chip to “rebuy”.

The reload/rebuy chip for me is a single value (20k/same as initial buyin). I feel that single chip should be the same value for everyone, with everyone on the same playing field and same amount of chips.

I agree with all the positives of using a built in pre-re-buy. All cash is handled at the start, and blinds are much easier to plan as the total chip amounts are known 100%.

 

[PokerJoe747]

We’ve done it for past 3 tournaments and it’s so much simpler.

 

[Grimalkin]

We’ve done it for past 3 tournaments and it’s so much simpler.

I’m also giving out bounty chips with the “rebuy/reload”. Once players cash in their rebuy chip they get a bounty chip with their new chips. (Bounty is activated once they use the rebuy/reload). But this is a whole different topic..