Re-buy tournaments are a hot topic these days, with rumors that the WSOP will drop re-buy events from its 2009 schedule. Many players do not like the re-buy format because it favors larger bankrolls and can turn the early part of the tournament into an all-in tilt-fest. Some claim it's a license to "buy" a bracelet for those who can afford to hammer the felt in order to accumulate a massive stack by the end of the re-buy period. While not everyone holds this view, it would seem that the re-buy tournament is in decline.
The number of re-buy tournaments in the UK over the past few years has dropped dramatically. Three years ago there used be two or three re-buy events in most UK poker festivals, but now some tournaments have none at all and very few stage more than one. Before the Internet boom re-buy tournaments were the staple of most UK cardrooms.
Players preferred them because they could enjoy at least an hour of poker before facing the possibility of being knocked out. Freeze outs provide no such protection, but re-buy tournament were a way of ensuring everyone got some guaranteed table time before facing the walk of shame.
Nowadays, with the Internet providing round the clock tournaments, getting knocked out of a live event early on is not such a big deal-simply head home, log on and have another go. Most UK players now seem to prefer the level playing field that freeze outs provide.
Other recent developments also protect against an early exit while maintaining a level playing field. A few years ago legendary London tournament director Roy Houghton came up with an alternative to the re-buy tournament. He called it the double chance freeze out, where tournament players start with half of the advertised starting stack. They can take the other half at no extra cost during the first two or three levels of the tournament.
The format has become so popular that such events are now commonplace at most UK poker festivals. So it would seem that in the UK at least, the re-buy tournament has evolved rather than disappeared. Perhaps the WSOP should schedule some double chance tournaments rather than obliterating the re-buy altogether. This would give players who want more than one tournament life a chance to play such an event, while maintaining a level playing field for all players.
The Grosvenor Victoria casino (the Vic), where I work, is an exception to the rule, and several re-buy tournaments are still included in the weekly schedule. These are mainly low ticket events with £30 and £50 buy-ins, however we recently started a weekly £100 re-buy tournament that's proved very popular, as the prize pools can get quite juicy. One issue that prevents the prize pools from being even higher is the rule that a re-buy is only permitted when a player has half his starting stack or less.
This is the way that Grosvenor casinos have always run re-buy tournaments and until recently almost all UK cardrooms applied this rule. Some players like it this way; however, it prevents immediate re-buys at the beginning of the tournament and double re-buys, both of which would increase the prize pool even further. Outside of Grosvenor casinos it is now more common to find re-buy tournaments being run as they are on most Internet poker sites, by allowing players to re-buy when they have their starting stack or less. A recent survey I conducted on three of the UK's largest online poker forums found that most players are now in favor of allowing re-buys with one's starting stack or less. So, will Grosvenor change their policy? Stay tuned to this column to find out.
Jonathan Raab is a poker consultant and tournament reporter. He also represents online poker site Blue Square at live poker events in the UK and Europe, and manages the GUKPT. Email Jonathan at jr@bluesq.com
