Posted by Dr Fro 9:36 AM
Every tournament structure warrants a different strategy. To play the same in all tournaments, regardless of structure is a deadly mistake that can easily be camouflaged by the same volatility in tournament results that camouflages a lot of poor decision making.

I have been piecing together what the appropriate strategy is for Junell’s tournament. I have determined the following:

1. The primary difference between his tournament and others are the rebuys and add-ons. Thus, most adjustments will relate to the rebuy period. Specifically, during the rebuy period, you should basically play your normal ring game style of pushing in big bets on small advantages. After the re-buy period, the tournament will warrant the usual no-limit no-rebuy tournament strategy, which avoids hands with high volatility.

2. All tournament books agree that as a general rule (with rare exception) it is appropriate to re-buy or add-on when the opportunity is presented, and the structure of Junell’s tournament is not one of those exceptions.

3. The add-on should be purchased except in the case of you having such an enormous stack at the break that it would make virtually no difference. I think you would need to have somewhere north of $5,000 to pass on the opportunity of adding-on.

4. Should you re-buy once your stack is < $250 or wait until you are busted? I think that you are better off waiting until you are busted to re-buy. Let’s say you have $200. If you re-buy, you are out $160 and have $700 in chips. Or, if you just take some big gambles with that $200 and try to triple up with probability X, with the intent of re-buying once busted, you will either be out $100 with $600 in chips at probability X or be out $160 with $500 in chips with probability 1-X. Since having $500 or $600 or $700 in chips is not terribly different at this early stage, I think the value in the possibility of saving $60 is worth it. Thus, wait until you bust out to re-buy. However, the books I have consulted do not all agree on this point.

5. If, however, your stack is so small that it is effectively equal to $0, you may as well re-load. Rule of thumb: if stack is < $25.

The above advice just focus and if and when to reach into your pocket. How should you play your hands?

6. As you approach the break, if you have say $260 in chips, you should be sure to lose $11 to enable you to re-buy and add-on.

7. Recognizing that others will employ item 6 and, more importantly, recognizing that others will tighten up right before the break, you should increase your propensity to steal pots as you approach the break.

8. At the onset of the tournament, you have a safety net – the rebuys. Others may fear the cost of the safety net, viewing it as a last resort rather than an opportunity. Take advantage of this by loosening up, taking shots to make your stack huge. If you trip and fall, re-load and resume the strategy. You can’t lose forever. Eventually, you will have a big stack. The only question is how much it will cost you. Once you have a big stack, play a strategy similar to what you would in a NL no-re-buy tournament.

A few other notes not related to the re-buy aspect:

9. The blinds move up slowly enough (2.5 hrs w BB of 4% of TC’s or less) that there is time to sit back and play your game

10. The prize payouts grow slowly then grow quite a bit. So if you are in the last group of 8, it is worth it to gamble to move up the ladder with little downside. Who really cares about the difference between 2% and 7%? But, once you are in the top 3 or 4, the prizes almost double for each level, so survival is key.

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