Tourney Do you like "Add On's" (1 Viewer)

[shawn15p]

The last couple Tournaments I have hosted was structured as follows:

$40 buy in
$40 re buy (1 time max in first 4 levels)
$20 add on (1 time at the end of 4th level)

I personally liked the add on, as it builds the pot and also builds the amount of chips out there. I would say 90% of guys took advantage of the add on, but there were a couple of guys who told me they felt it was pointless and they didn't like it (even though they took it)

What are your guys feelings about them? For those who don't like them are there better options out there to incorporate?

I was thinking of taking them away and adding bounties instead.

 

[tikipirate]

I do not like add-ons (or rebuys for that matter). I like the idea of tournaments be egalitarian. I do like bounties though.

 

[derekdd23]

I hate add-ons, rebuys, re-entries. To me all tourneys should be freezeouts since the whole point of playing for me is to have the fear of busting!

 

[Poker Zombie]

If you are short certain chips, the add-on makes sense. Some players may be eliminated by the add-on, so you won't need to provide as many chips. Beyond that, I view every add-on as part of my buy-in, which I am effectively refunded if I'm KOed early. If everyone - or nearly everyone takes it though, it's just a $60 tourney, with a $20 refund for those KOed early.

As for rebuys... My players drive a long way to get to my house. some for over an hour. A rebuy nearly assures you will survive long enough to get at least 2 hours of enjoyment out of your 2 hour round trip. In casinos, I hate rebuys/re-entries though. Too many LAGtards with too much money creates a virtual minefield for those of us on a budget to have to work through.

 

[shawn15p]

If you are short certain chips, the add-on makes sense. Some players may be eliminated by the add-on, so you won't need to provide as many chips. Beyond that, I view every add-on as part of my buy-in, which I am effectively refunded if I'm KOed early. If everyone - or nearly everyone takes it though, it's just a $60 tourney, with a $20 refund for those KOed early.

As for rebuys... My players drive a long way to get to my house. some for over an hour. A rebuy nearly assures you will survive long enough to get at least 2 hours of enjoyment out of your 2 hour round trip. In casinos, I hate rebuys/re-entries though. Too many LAGtards with too much money creates a virtual minefield for those of us on a budget to have to work through.

Exactly why I like the one re-buy. About half of my guys drive an hour. And it really sucks to bust out in the first 20 mins after coming down. I don't like multiple re-buys because it becomes a shove fest, but I feel like one re-buy gives guys the option to keep playing if they bust out early, along with the perks of building the pot.

 

[detroitdad]

I don't care one way or the other. I usually don't rebuy anyways though. I'll play with any/all of the above.

 

[phaze12]

ok, this is sad. a chip forum and everyone above hates getting moar chips on the table???

first off if you're going to have a rebuy tournament you must have an add on. this has to do with being fair to the players that do not rebuy. you also have to allow rebuys to anyone that has a starting stack or less. if not its a re-entry not a rebuy.

that being said, rebuy tournys are fun. it drives action and gets a shite ton of chips on the table so you are playing deep stack poker. far too many tournys get shallow quick. i have a single table rebuy tourney set.(300pc nine dragons yeah!) i usually have a t5k $10 rebuy tourney with a t10k $10 add on. most times it gets all the chips on the table and its a load of fun. you get to apease the lags and tags all in one tournament. which is what i like to see.

 

[ChipTalker]

personal preference but I'm not a big fan of rebuys or add ons.

 

[Puggy]

I'm a fan, since I usually play very loose during a rebuy period (even if I am a bit nittish otherwise). I try to obtain as big as stack as possible
during a rebuy period. And I always add-on, no matter what my chip count is when the time for add-on comes. B/c the point is to win all the chips
and the best way to do it IMO, is to get as many chips in the beginning as possible.

 

[Ghoti]

I like add ons and, for that matter, rebuys a lot. A great way to generate action while allowing some guys who might be a little more nitty to get in for a smaller amount (while simultaneously loosening up said nits because they see all these nutballs getting it in with junk). I guess it depends on your player pool. All my buddies are a bunch of nits so for me, who would happily play for 5-10 times the stakes we normally do on any given night, I think rebuys and addons are the way to go.

 

[detroitdad]

I don't mind Add on's, rebuy's, re-entries, ect.....I play low stakes, 20-60 dollar buy ins. I'm going to have a good time either way.

I only prefer freeze outs and unlimited re-entries because that is what I feel like I'm more successful at.

 

[Poker Zombie]

Exactly why I like the one re-buy. About half of my guys drive an hour. And it really sucks to bust out in the first 20 mins after coming down. I don't like multiple re-buys because it becomes a shove fest, but I feel like one re-buy gives guys the option to keep playing if they bust out early, along with the perks of building the pot.

We used to have unlimited rebuys, back when I was lucky to fill 1 table but one player with too much cash became all jam-reload-jam happy. One night he finished 1st and still managed to make less money than 3rd. After that, we implemented the "Robbie Rule", limiting rebuys to 1. I believe it saved my game.

ok, this is sad. a chip forum and everyone above hates getting moar chips on the table???

first off if you're going to have a rebuy tournament you must have an add on. this has to do with being fair to the players that do not rebuy. you also have to allow rebuys to anyone that has a starting stack or less. if not its a re-entry not a rebuy.

that being said, rebuy tournys are fun. it drives action and gets a shite ton of chips on the table so you are playing deep stack poker. far too many tournys get shallow quick. i have a single table rebuy tourney set.(300pc nine dragons yeah!) i usually have a t5k $10 rebuy tourney with a t10k $10 add on. most times it gets all the chips on the table and its a load of fun. you get to apease the lags and tags all in one tournament. which is what i like to see.

There are lots of ways to get more chips on the table. Start with bigger stacks is a good start. If everybody takes the add-on, just start it. Why waste time (unless you have the aforementioned chip shortage).

Also, I don't get how "if you're going to have a rebuy tournament you must have an add on". I have a rebuy tournament, I don't have an add-on. Ergo, that statement is intrinsically false. "This has to do with being fair to the players that do not rebuy" - my statistics indicate that players that rebuy are no more likely to finish in the money than those don't, so if there is an advantage to the rebuy (without offering an add-on), nobody has taken advantage of it in 8 years.

 

[phaze12]

Also, I don't get how "if you're going to have a rebuy tournament you must have an add on". I have a rebuy tournament, I don't have an add-on. Ergo, that statement is intrinsically false. "This has to do with being fair to the players that do not rebuy" - my statistics indicate that players that rebuy are no more likely to finish in the money than those don't, so if there is an advantage to the rebuy (without offering an add-on), nobody has taken advantage of it in 8 years.

the reason you ned to have an add on is because he last hand before the rebuy period ends people are going to go all in.

example. player A has 10k in chips(just reuped) goes all in. it folds around to player B in the bb, who has a stack of 12k and looks down at KK.

player B can (should) call. if he loses he is left with 2k in chips. or fold and keep the 12K and lose his BB.

player A wins and doubles his stack or loses and rebuys and has 10k.

this is what i mean as an advantage for some players when there is no addon.

 

[inca911]

Rebuy = Yes
If you are knocked out early, with a rebuy you can still play. As someone who drives to several games, it's important that getting coolered doesn't end my night. I was at a no-rebuy tourney with a pre- flop all-in KK vs. AA. The AA lost, and the player was done for the night after one hand.

Add-On = No
Add-Ons increase the tourney cost, but not the enjoyment. It's a disadvantage to those who are on a budget, so it gives an edge to those with $ to invest/burn. If players want to shove during the rebuy period, I'm happy to build my stack against them. If a player is fairly short, we don't make them bust completely in order to rebuy. In a less-friendly game, you'd need to establish some rules (e.g., can rebuy with <50% of starting stack).

 

[Poker Zombie]

With our games we took a little known page from the WSOP. You can rebuy at any time (during the rebuy period), but you forfeit any chips you had in play. This method has completely eliminated the short stack shove syndrome where players try to get felted or double up during the last hand of the rebuy period, because you are giving your opponents an extra chip advantage if you are jamming with air.

 

[CdnBeerLover]

We allow one rebuy if you bust out. If you haven't already used your rebuy, you have the option at the end of the rebuy period to trade in your chipstack for a full starting stack. Anyone with a rebuy chip after that gets an additional 1bb.

 

[Dwight87]

I set up a friendly $20-$30 3-4 hour tourney in between cash games and allow unlimited re-buys during the 1st hour. One add-on (half or full starting stack) is allowed after the 1st hour then the remaining 2-3 hours becomes a freeze out. Great way to goose the pot and still have a competitive tourney in the end. This is for 9-16 players and we play 6 max/table until the final table of 9...great times.

 

[MoscowRadio]

I'm a fan, since I usually play very loose during a rebuy period (even if I am a bit nittish otherwise). I try to obtain as big as stack as possible
during a rebuy period. And I always add-on, no matter what my chip count is when the time for add-on comes. B/c the point is to win all the chips
and the best way to do it IMO, is to get as many chips in the beginning as possible.

I always offer rebuys and add-ons in my home games since it juices the pot and no one wants to go busto in the first couple of levels and have to leave. I do think, however, that add-ons should be somewhere between 25 and 30 BBs. I always take advantage of the add-on and would do so even if I had 99% of chips on the table.

 

[BGinGA]

Our premier league offers a single re-buy (if busted) during the first two hours. Players who do not re-buy may redeem their re-buy chip for a free add-on (the re-buy chip has some intrinsic value, and it adds a bit extra strategy). Players also have staggered starting stack options (1/3, 2/3, or full stacks), which also adds extra strategy to the event and results in fewer actual re-buys.

Our other tournaments vary quite a bit. Some are total freeze-outs, some are single re-buy with or without add-on, some are half-stack re-buys with half-stack add-ons, some are multiple re-buy with or without add-on, and some are no re-buy with add-on. Generally speaking, events with a lower buy-in amount tend to be re-buy events, and high-casualty formats (PLO, etc.) tend to offer re-buys due to the high early kill rate.

Offering an add-on tends to reward the larger stacks (since it makes less sense to add-on with a huge stack, but the smaller stacks will do so while adding to the prize pool) while giving percieved value (and hope) to the small stacks. I have no problem playing in any of the various buy-in/add-on formats, although I conceptually align with the single re-buy format as a measure of bad-beat protection.

You can rebuy at any time (during the rebuy period), but you forfeit any chips you had in play.

If you haven't already used your rebuy, you have the option at the end of the rebuy period to trade in your chipstack for a full starting stack.

Both of these ideas are excellent ways to discourage late jam/reload scenarios or 'nearly-forced' all-ins when extremely short-stacked.

 

[shawn15p]

Our premier league offers a single re-buy (if busted) during the first two hours. Players who do not re-buy may redeem their re-buy chip for a free add-on (the re-buy chip has some intrinsic value, and it adds a bit extra strategy).

I like that idea---maybe this weekend I will increase the buy in slightly to say $50 +10 bounty with one re buy allowed if busted and then half stack free add on if you don't bust during the first 4 levels.

 

[Psypher1000]

I don't think there's anything intrinsically wrong with using add-ons. The context of the tournament informs whether or not offering them is appropriate.