[Toothpic]

Hi guys,
I'm just trying to try out new setups for our weekly tournaments.
We usually have around 7-10 guys come play and this is the structure we've been using.

buyin 10 bucks, rebuys 10 bucks for:
8 - 25s
8 - 100s
4 - 500s
2 - 1000s
Total: T5000

Blind structure (first 4 rounds, 15mins, remaining 10 mins)
25 / 50
50 / 100
75 / 150 ---end of rebuys
100 / 200
200 / 400
300 / 600
400 / 800 - 100 ante
500 / 1000 - 100 ante
600 / 1200 - 200 ante
800 / 1600 - 200 ante
1k / 2k - 300 ante (we rarely get here)
1.5k / 3k - 400 ante (we never get here)

We usually play two tournaments in one night, both taking approx 4 hours. We're really happy with the timeline since we play on a weeknight and most of us work the next morning.

Note: One thing I forgot to mention.. we pay out 1st and 2nd, but with us wanting to get the tournament over quickly so we can play another.. we stop play with only 2 people left and count chips for 1st and 2nd. Kinda cheesy, but it works and everyone seems to agree.

My question is regarding the buying/rebuy. This seems to work pretty well so far, but maybe there's room for improvement.

I was thinking, maybe we should do buyins at $20 for T5000, rebuys for $10 for T3000 chips.

First thoughts on this is it might encourage more rebuys, and a lot more action since rebuys are short stacked. The pot is now larger since it's $20 a person, why not pay another $10 to try to win?
On the other hand, it might not encourage rebuys since you rebuy for less than a starting stack, and stacks in play will average above 5k once rebuys start. Even though the price of an initial buying ($20) will actually get you T6000 in chips, does that make it a deal to rebuy while not compromising the people who are still on their starting stacks from the initial buy?

What are your thoughts?

[beekeeper]

I think it depends on your group of guys. Our group sometimes has rebuys for the first tournament, because we also let stragglers (late comers) buy in after the tournament has begun. We usually allow rebuys through the third round, which works out well.

I think, usually, rebuys are for the same amount as a starting stack or more, because with the raising of the blinds, the value of the chips have depreciated. A T3000 add-on would make more sense than a T3000 rebuy.

We also play for $10 buy ins. Our group wouldn't want to buy in for $20, but your group might. Perhaps doing a combination of rebuys and add-ons before the 4th level will increase the pot and action.

I'm surprised that your tournaments last 4 hours. My blind structure is very similar to yours, and we usually go about 2 1/2 hours--but that must be the effect of rebuys.

Let us know what you decide and how it works out.

[Toothpic]

Thanks for the quick reply, Beekeeper. I don't have much experience with addons, but that might work out better.
Do addons usually have rules? Like, you can't addon unless you're below 3k or something?

Oh, that's 4 hours for 2 tournaments so 2 hours a tournament.. pretty similar to yours.

[Toothpic]

Note: One thing I forgot to mention.. we pay out 1st and 2nd, but with us wanting to get the tournament over quickly so we can play another.. we stop play with only 2 people left and count chips for 1st and 2nd. Kinda cheesy, but it works and everyone seems to agree.

[jmc]

You might need to change the blind structure a little bit if you want your tournament to finish in 2 hours. Rebuys = more chips in play, which means you'll probably end up at that 1.5k/3k level.

[Toothpic]

We've been doing rebuys for a couple of months now and usually we finish around the 800/1600 levels due to us ending the game when there's only 2 players left (higher chip count takes 1st).

We did implement an addon rule last night. This was to address the situation where you go all in on the last rebuy hand and get called and lose to a slightly smaller stack, leaving you severely crippled. For $10 you get 5k in chips for your rebuy. No too many people took this opportunity last night (1 person), but I can see it being useful in the future. We're gonna try that for a while and see how it works.

[MeridianFC]

We just do one rebuy any time you like. Obviously there comes a time when the rebuy doesn't make sense but it's up to the player. You can even start off with a double stack if you want to burn your rebuy at the beginning. It's worked well for my game.

[Toothpic]

Originally Posted by MeridianFC

We just do one rebuy any time you like. Obviously there comes a time when the rebuy doesn't make sense but it's up to the player. You can even start off with a double stack if you want to burn your rebuy at the beginning. It's worked well for my game.

Ahhh cool.. I might have to try that sometime too, thanks!

[on tilt]

Originally Posted by Toothpic

Thanks for the quick reply, Beekeeper. I don't have much experience with addons, but that might work out better.
Do addons usually have rules? Like, you can't addon unless you're below 3k or something?

Oh, that's 4 hours for 2 tournaments so 2 hours a tournament.. pretty similar to yours.

Addons usually don't have chip count rules. Anyone can addon at the appropriate level. We usually do it after the second break. After that it is a freeze out. We usually make the addon the same as the starting stack, but cheaper than the initial buy in (about half usually). Also everyone in out game usually goes for the addon, one or 2 only give it a miss.

[Toothpic]

I think that's a good option too.. to allow for an addon for the original number of chips, but at a lower price. When we tried it, only one person used the addon option. The lower price should definitely encourage other players to use it. Hopefully, it will only extend the game by about 1 round.