Question for Sky Dave

Wilhelm

I remember reading an article on rebuy tournaments that you had written.  It was very useful, I must commend you for that.  One thing that I'm not sure was covered was how the size of the field affects the stratgey, if it does at all.  For example, I regularly play the £25 guaranteed rebuy and it can get anywhere between 20 and 45 runners.  As such, I'm not sure the prizepool warrants taking three rebuys and an addon.  Obviously I don't do this everytime, but the times I do I feel like I can only get a decent ROI by winning the thing.  Of course, there are times when I could win and only pay the equivalent of one or two buy-ins.  Does this even it out from the times I pay 5 buy-ins? 

Anyway, just to re-cap, my main question was how does the size of the field affect the strategy you outlined in your article?

Thanks in advance

W

Sky_Dave

Hi Willhelm,

The question on how many rebuys to take is a very subjective one. Some players - and I am fairly sure Tikay is in this bracket - would say "I'm buying in, taking one rebuy and one add-on, that is all." 

Other players, such as Daniel Negreanu, would take the view that they should rebuy as many times as their bankroll permits IF they believe the other chips on the table are winnable. Basically if you think you have an edge on the field, and most specifically on your table, you shouldn't worry too much about how many rebuys you're making. He believes that that puts more chips on the table which he'll eventually win back. That will in turn give him a bigger stack and a better footing to go on and win the tournament.

Personally, I would go somewhere down the middle of the two. Negreanu's approach certainly works better in bigger MTT fields as your buy in will likely equal a smaller percentage of the total prize pool. It's not as if you're going to sit in too many 300 field MTTs where the average number of rebuys is 6 or 7. Those bigger stacks will certainly help after the rebuy period more as there will be more bullets and players to dodge on your way to the final table.

As for smaller fields - and I think a field of 30 is definitely small - I would pay more attention to the number of rebuys being taken by those around you and make a decision accordingly. If you're playing in a tourney where the rest of the field are playing a bit snug, I'd try and do the same thing. 

Where I differ from Tikay on this one is that I would NEVER turn down a second or third rebuy if I am at a table that I believe will be profitable in the near future. Smaller fields mean you'll spend more time with the same players, and if I think the field - or even one or two specific players - are going to spew chips in my direction I am not walking away from that table until they are broke.

I hope that answers your question somewhat. For those of you who missed the article....

The Skill in Rebuys