Tournament Rebuys

Recently a reader e-mailed me with a problem he was having playing in small poker tournaments with rebuys. He wrote: "I read your column on a regular basis, and am confident that you can provide me with some tournament advice specifically for the type of tournament I play. I enter a local cardroom's morning tournaments on a daily basis. The buy-in is $25 for $1,500 in chips, and there are unlimited $20 rebuys for $1,500 in chips for the first hour. After the first hour, an add-on is offered - $50 for $5,000 in chips. You can rebuy and add on at the same time. Most people add on, but I rarely do. The blinds start at $25-$50, and double every 20 minutes. The cardroom adds $200 to the prize pool, so first place averages $600-$1,000. There are usually three to five tables, and they pay the last five players. Once the fifth player is knocked out, the tournament is over and he gets fifth-place prize money. Whoever has the most chips wins first place, and second- through fourth-place money is paid according to chip count. I get past the rebuy periods most of the time without rebuying or adding on, but I am often short-stacked. I last about 30-60 minutes more, and then I am out of the tournament. Some players, whom I consider to be consistent winners, almost always buy the add-on. Some spend more than $100 before the rebuys and add-on are over. I have seen someone spend $185, and he came in second. My thinking is, if I don't rebuy or add on and win the tournament, I get a return of 24-40 times my initial investment. Whereas, a person who puts in $75 gets a return of 8-13 times his investment. Also, I think I need to win about three times less frequently than the person who puts in $75 or more. It sounds like betting on a long shot in horse racing. Is this a correct way of thinking? I do rebuy once in a while, but I rarely add on, even though I have more than enough money to do so. Another problem I am having is that I cannot win first place, even if I am at the final table with the chip lead. Is there a special strategy I need to employ when there are five to seven players remaining? By the time I watch the sixth player get knocked out, I am too short-stacked to make any impact. If you could help me overcome my shortcomings, I would appreciate it."

My reply to this reader's inquiry is as follows: Regarding rebuys in your tournaments, you should rebuy at your first opportunity. You also should play aggressively and somewhat loosely during the rebuy stage of a multirebuy tournament. And you should always buy the add-on, unless it will not increase your stack by at least 20 percent. For example, if you have $2,000 in chips, you should add on if it provides you at least $400 more in chips. In your tournaments, you are getting $5,000 in chips for the add-on, so you should almost always add on. You want to build up chips early in a tournament like this. Chips are power. If you are playing conservatively to conserve your chips, this will not allow you to compete effectively with the other players. They are rebuying and adding on, so they will always have a chip advantage over you, unless you happen to get very lucky early. At the final table, you seem to be having a problem winning the tournament even when you have a good stack of chips. Apparently, you are playing too conservatively at the final table, as well. You must play aggressively and steal the blinds an average of at least once every round, or they will eat you up and you will go broke. Play faster and more aggressively, and rebuy at every opportunity. This will greatly increase your chances of winning. Good luck at your next tournament.