Poker Tournament Rebuys And Add Ons
An add-on is an additional buy-in in a poker tournament.
In a poker tournament, they may offer an 'add-on,' which is an option to buy more chips than a player received with his original buy-in. Usually, there is one option to 'add-on' during a tournament, at the end of the rebuy period or at the first break. Add-ons are more common in rebuy tournaments, where players have probably been buying in repeatedly already when they busted or their stack got low. However, an add-on is different than a rebuy in that players can choose to 'add-on' regardless of how many chips they have. And it is definitely different from a re-entry, where not only do you have to be busted, you need to go to the cage and buy an entirely new entry rather than just buying in where you sit.
Add-ons are usually offered in tournaments that also have rebuys. You should certainly find out if a tournament allows add-ons and poker rebuys before you sign up in the tournament. Examine the tournament main screen where you register, since the difference may have a telling impact on the actual costs to compete effectively. For example, there are tournaments that have extremely large add-ons for 30,000 chips, while the starting stack and rebuys are only 3,000 chips. You want to watch for these types of gigantic add-ons so that you can be sure to avoid these tournaments, unless you have the money to add on with.
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The price of the add-on and how many chips it provides to the player is completely at the discretion of whoever runs the tournament, though it is the same for everyone and should be known before the tournament starts. i.e. 'This $30 tournament features unlimited rebuys and a $10 add-on for 2,000 additional chips at the end of the rebuy period.'
If the number of chips the add-on gives you isn't mentioned, you can always ask. It's a common question and It's best to know up front so you can plan your strategy accordingly.
Add-on Strategy
You always want to know how much of a percentage boost the add-on will give your stack and how much of a percentage of your buy-in it is going to cost. If you can double your stack for less than the original buy-in, you should definitely take the add-on. But if you've already gone on a good run and built your stack to the point where an add-on would only gain you 15% for the same price, then it would be silly to add-on. Basically, any time the percentage of your buy-in add-on costs is less than the percentage increase in your stack it provides, you should take the add-on.
There are other considerations, however:
- Will it give you the chip lead at your table? Having the chip lead — and more importantly, knowing how to use it — can be worth a slight negative in the straight up value of an add-on.
- Do the extra chips keep you even or ahead of a player you know would be hard to deal with if you didn't have enough chips to scare them with. By the time the add-on comes around, you should have a good idea of who these players are. Watch to see if they take the add-on — you may need to take one yourself just to keep pace.
- Does the add-on's cost put you into the tourney more than you are comfortable? You should have factored this in before you played, but perhaps you used your case money to rebuy at a very good table. It can take quite a few rebuy/add-on tourneys before you get comfortable with how much they are actually likely to cost you.
- If you are backed or sharing the tournament buy-in with others in some way, does the add-on come out of your pocket or the communal one? Another factor that should be hammered out before the first hand of tournament poker is dealt.
Edited by Adam Stemple.
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Click here for Part 1 of this series.
In the long-ago, olden days of the last century, almost all tournaments were freezeouts, meaning you could enter one time only. If you lost all your chips, you were done. There were also a handful of rebuy tournaments, usually lower buy-in events that happened weekly at your local poker room. That way, the players with smaller bankrolls could enter once and take a shot, and those with bigger bankrolls could splash around and rebuy and add-on as much as possible to increase their odds of building a stack and going deep.
In today’s environment, most live tournaments offer re-entry, and many online tournaments offer rebuys and add-ons.
Despite the almost ubiquitous nature of these formats, there are many players who very much dislike them. They feel the ability to re-enter gives an advantage to the players with deep pockets who can afford to re-enter frequently. Which means they think those without deep pockets are at a disadvantage.
Some players also dislike how the ability to re-enter causes some of their opponents to play very loose and aggressive during the re-entry period. And it is true, there are many players who do this, who take huge, almost suicidal, risks during the re-entry period. They often have the goal of getting lucky and building a giant stack, or busting out to re-enter and try again.
As for the first concern, I must disagree. It has often been said that poker is just one long game. This is more obvious in a cash game setting. If I visit my local poker room several days per week and always play $1-$2 no-limit holdem, the result of each individual session isn’t of much importance. What matters is how well I do in the aggregate, that is, in the long run.
However, much the same can be said about tournaments. Let’s say your poker room runs a tournament every Tuesday night that permits re-entry. Every week it is the same buy-in, same structure, and approximately the same field.
When you think about it, what does it matter if you re-enter the tournament tonight, or come back next Tuesday to play then? How is a player at a disadvantage because they don’t have the bankroll to re-enter? The difference between a player who never re-enters, and another who averages one re-entry per week is not that the player who re-enters has any monetary advantage. It just means that one of them will play 40-50 entries per year, and the other 80-100 entries.
If they have the same skill level, they will achieve the same return on investment. But the player who re-enters has no advantage over the player who does not, or cannot, re-enter. Yes, the player who re-enters is more likely to make it to the money tonight, and to win the tournament tonight. They are, in this example, about twice as likely to do so. But they are also spending about twice as much money for that benefit. In the end, if these two players have the same skill level, they will each win, or lose, about the same amount per dollar invested in entries.
With respect to the second concern, I also must disagree. Yes, in my experience, there is a lot more loose, aggressive play during the re-entry period. I see this all the time. Sometimes, there are players who are capable of playing with great skill, but instead choose to gamble like crazy during the re-entry period. If that is what some people are complaining about, I say to them, “Are you crazy, too?” If your opponent is capable of playing well, but is instead playing poorly, why would you want to stop them?
I say, let them make their foolish plays. While it adds a lot of variance to the game, it also adds a lot of profit to my bottom line, and to the bottom line of everyone else in the field.
The thing is, making a negative expected value (-EV) decision in a hand of poker does not become positive expected value (+EV) just because you can re-enter if you bust. If you are getting the same number of chips per dollar for the re-entry, then choosing to re-enter is no different than coming back next week to enter this tournament afresh.
As far as your personal long-term EV is concerned, choosing to re-enter just saves you time, and lets you get your bankroll back into action sooner. Just like it is your right to play each hand as you see fit, it is their right to do the same, both during and after the re-entry period. Let your opponents, if they choose to do so, play wild-and-crazy. Accept that this will increase your variance, but stick to making the smartest decisions you can. Re-enter, or not, as you wish, when that becomes an option.
If you still just believe that rebuy and re-entry tournaments are a bad idea, there is one critical thing you can do. Vote with your feet, don’t play them, and let the poker room know why you’re avoiding these events. If enough people agree with you, I promise you the poker room will listen.
Just like every other part of the game, have fun, and Play Smart! ♠
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Greg Raymer is the 2004 World Series of Poker main event champion, winner of numerous major titles, and has more than $7 million in earnings. He recently authored FossilMan’s Winning Tournament Strategies, available from D&B Publishing, Amazon, and other retailers. He is sponsored by Blue Shark Optics, YouStake, and ShareMyPair. To contact Greg please tweet @FossilMan or visit his website.