Rebuy tournaments may seem largely identical to freezeouts, but they are actually a very different beast, and require a very different playing style in the early stages. Failing to recognise this and make the necessary adjustments is a huge mistake, and one that will severely hinder your chances of going deep.
Just as you’d never play a cash game as if you couldn’t reload, you shouldn’t play a rebuy on a single bullet. Before entering any rebuy tournament you should be comfortable spending at least five times your initial outlay (view a $10 rebuy as a $50 tournament). You might spend less or more but five buy-ins allows for at least an initial rebuy at the very beginning, a double rebuy should you bust and an add-on at the end of the rebuy period.
At PKR you can take a rebuy to double your stack before a hand is even dealt. You should always take this option, even if no one else at your table takes one, as it allows you to get paid the maximum should you pick up a hand. Likewise, if you ever dip below the initial starting stack you should top yourself up because your goal during the rebuy period is to get as many chips as you can for when the freezeout period begins.
Different roads
There is no right or wrong way to approach a rebuy, as play will be very table-dependent and you should play whichever way comes naturally. I’ve seen the nittiest nits and the laggiest LAGs prosper in rebuys and as the saying goes it’s usually a good idea to play the opposite way to how your table is playing.
Having said that, playing looser and faster during the rebuy period can work in your favour, as you have the safety net of buying back in and there are some pretty standard adjustments you can make without taking a train to Spewville. Unless your table is really tight there’s simply no need to slow-play or limp big hands, as players are generally going to three-bet and even over-shove with a wider range. When you pick up a premium hand you should try to inflate pots to maximise value and also force opponents to make bigger mistakes. Postflop you can afford to play good draws aggressively because if you miss, you rebuy! Even if you run ridiculously bad and find yourself in for a dozen or so buy-ins having missed every draw in sight, never ever quit prior to the end of the rebuy period, but be thankful to those who do.
Tricks and tactics
While you can approach a rebuy tournament in any number of ways – creating whatever image you think will give you the most advantage – you ideally want to fool your opponents into thinking you’re playing the opposite way to how you are. It’s amazing how long first impressions last and one tactic I’ve used and seen others employ successfully is the ‘shove it in’ method. Simply put, this ploy involves shipping your stack in for the first couple of hands regardless of holding. If you get called, so be it. If you lose the pot you rebuy, and if you win the whole table will think you’re a maniac who just shoved a ton of big blinds in with 7-4o. If you don’t get called, proudly show your holding (unless it happens to be a premium hand).
You can also utilise the chatbox by typing ‘Let’s gamble’ or ‘You guys do know this is a rebuy right?’ This usually loosens the table right up (especially against you). Meanwhile you can smoothly change gears, wait for a good hand and shove it in again. It’s amazing how light you’ll get looked up. Don’t worry about getting called lighter both preflop and postflop if you’re drawing or have a marginal hand as it’s all part of getting a big stack together.
Crazy play?
While this only one way of approaching the rebuy period, as a general rule it pays to get involved in the first few levels. Effective stacks are deep like a cash game, so take flops in position, open wider with a mix of solid hands and hands that can flop big like suited gappers and connectors. If you flop well – for example you hold 4d-5d on a 2-3-J rainbow board – you should be attempting to build a pot and ideally get your chips in. It really pays to put your opponents under pressure in the rebuy period and put them to big decisions whenever possible. Remember that some players will be on a single bullet. This pressure can lead to you taking down more than your fair share of pots and even when called you’ve got outs.
When I play rebuys pot control almost goes out the window in that first hour, as I’m looking to play big pots with anything remotely decent.
The end of the rebuy period
By the halfway point of a rebuy period you should have a fair idea of the table conditions (unless you’ve just moved table) and also how your stack is doing. You shouldn’t be so much concerned with the average stack or how your stack compares to others at the table, more so how you’re doing against the blinds and antes. What you should be aware of is how big the blinds will be during the first level of the freezeout period (check the tournament lobby) and also what stack you’ll have should you bust on the last level of the rebuy period and have to double rebuy and add on.
Take the $5 buy-in $1,500 guaranteed rebuy at 5.20pm GMT on PKR. Should you bust on the last hand of the rebuy period in this tournament and then take the double rebuy and add-on, you’ll start the freezout period with 4,400 chips and the blinds at 150/300, leaving you fairly short-stacked. If you’ve got a decent stack of say 8,000+ then I’d recommend slowing down to protect your stack while picking on those who are in the same boat. The risk/reward ratio can get skewed at this point, because while getting a monster stack is great, the risk of losing your big stack status and becoming a short-to-medium stack is mostly not worth the risk.
Attacking the scared stacks
If you’re yet to get a stack together you should be doing everything in your power to do so, as there’s the safety net of a 4,400 stack should you fail. At this point there will be a lot of players sitting on a 15-20 big blind stack. These stacks have more to lose than they do to gain, and three-betting all-in against them can be a great way to pick up a lot of chips. Ideal stacks to attack are those in the mid to big-stack territory who don’t want to take the bus to short-stack town.
Many narrow-minded players argue that rebuys are more akin to bingo than poker, but the fact that rebuys play far deeper-stacked than freezeout tournaments for far longer means they are, in my opinion, a greater test of poker ability.