Poker Tournament Formula Revisited

[Bang584]

In a rebuy tournament, if you're the only one who rebuys, you are the sucker.

Let's create a different scenario: a six-man tournament that pays 2/3 to 1st, 1/3 to second. In this tournament, each player buys in for $50. A dealer button moves around the table, just like in Hold'em, and the two players to the left of the button must post a $50 blind and flip a coin to determine a winner. Play continues this way until we are heads up, at which time the bet per flip increases to $100. Let's say Player A had a good run and is sitting with $200 in front of him. Player B has the remaining $100. You said that Player A should win twice as often as Player B. With that in mind, Player A wins $200 twice and $100 once for an average profit of $116.67([500/3]-50). Player B wins $100 twice and $200 once for an average profit of $83.33([400/3]-50). Player A's "chip" advantage has increased his potential profit, even without some sort of edge.

Maybe Snyder's book made some careless generalizations with regards to rebuy strategy, but his example about "chip" advantage seems to be somewhat accurate.