Need Rebuy Guidelines For a Ring Game

[TomBrooks]

Some friends and I just started an NL Ring game and had our first game this weekend. We played .10/.25 $25 maximum buyin. This was the first time playing in such a game for some of the players including me and the host. I dipped a few dollars in the beginning and asked to rebuy enough to top off my stack to the $25 max. That started a whole big discussion on when to allow rebuying or "topping off." One guy was arguing that you shouldn't be able to rebuy until you bust out. I had to struggle a bit to get it to where you could rebuy if your stack got as low as $15 or lower.

What's the usual way to handle this? I would rather not play shortstacked. I could see how it could slow the game down a lot if someone was looking to buy more chips every hand however.

[HoldemPokerPlyr]

At my home cash game we allow you to rebuy when you go broke.

[pfapfap]

It may be +EV to let this one go for a while, as they seem like donks. Don't give them the impression right from the start that you're there to take their money. Top off after a big beat or if you're down to $4 or something, but otherwise, practice your short stack game.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
Some friends and I just started an NL Ring game and had our first game this weekend. We played .10/.25 $25 maximum buyin. This was the first time playing in such a game for some of the players including me and the host. I dipped a few dollars in the beginning and asked to rebuy enough to top off my stack to the $25 max. That started a whole big discussion on when to allow rebuying or "topping off." One guy was arguing that you shouldn't be able to rebuy until you bust out. I had to struggle a bit to get it to where you could rebuy if your stack got as low as $15 or lower.

[/ QUOTE ]

This sounds like tourney mentality. What reasons did they give to NOT allow topping off, adding on, whatever? If they want to play with a cap to limit the growth of the stacks, that's one thing.

I would suggest a structure of $25 max initial buy-in, rebuy max of either $50 or biggest existing stack, whichever is smaller.

"I would rather not play shortstacked."

..... because... ? pfap is right, work on your short game

" I could see how it could slow the game down a lot if someone was looking to buy more chips every hand however. "

Let money play. Have people buy chips from the other players in between hands.

[nowags]

Have a rule that you can onlyn re-buy when you bust, or you are really close to it. Don't allow topping off, its a waste of time.

I agree with allowing them to buy more to keep up with the big stacks. We run our cash games this way and it works well.

[PantsOnFire]

In the majority of cash games I play in, there is a minimum and a maximum buy-in. And the rule for rebuy is that you can rebuy the minimum amount any time you fall below that amount and up to the maximum.

For example, in 1/2 NL the min is $100 and the max is $200. When your stack is at say $60, you can buy between $100 and $140 in chips. When I play in this game, as soon as I dip below $100, I top up to $200 the next hand. Some guys play $100 and rebuy for $100 more when they bust out. It seems to serve both types of players.

[TomBrooks]

I have only recently started playing No Limit and posting some hands for feedback in the 2p2 No Limit/Pot Limit MicroStakes Forum.

***One thing they invariably and firmly harp on is keeping a fully topped off stack.***

A lot of the guys in this thread not only seem to think keeping topped off isn't important, some of you seem willing to play down to nothing before rebuying. This is confusing me.

From my own experience I can tell you this: When I played Limit Hold'em at Cryptologic (before the US Ban) where there was no limit to the number of raises allowed when heads up--if I didn't have everybody at the table covered on those rare occassions when I got the nuts or near nuts and found myself against another very good hand--I felt like I'd foolishly squandered a great opportunity.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
I have only recently started playing No Limit and posting some hands for feedback in the 2p2 No Limit/Pot Limit MicroStakes Forum.

***One thing they invariably and firmly harp on is keeping a fully topped off stack.***

[/ QUOTE ]

I think NL players overdo this "must have max stack for max return" mantra. Are you more likely to max your hand return with a top-3 stack... or a smaller one, that people will feel they have to call? I don't know this answer, but I suspect the fear of a big stack can often keep bets down, maybe when you don't want them to... perhaps?

"A lot of the guys in this thread not only seem to think keeping topped off isn't important, some of you seem willing to play down to nothing before rebuying. "

Other than controlling the escalating cost of NL games, I don't understand this much either.

"From my own experience I can tell you this: When I played Limit Hold'em at Cryptologic (before the US Ban) where there was no limit to the number of raises allowed when heads up--if I didn't have everybody at the table covered on those rare occassions when I got the nuts or near nuts and found myself against another very good hand--I felt like I'd foolishly squandered a great opportunity."

If that happens a lot online, it might make sense. My experiences is that it happens much more rarely in live play, so you're not losing much with a few lost bets you could have had.

[pfapfap]

This isn't a casino with dealers and chip runners and random fish. These are your friends trying to have a good time. Cut them some slack. Poker is a game of math and psychology. That second bit includes people skills, which is crucial to getting the first part in your favor. It also helps you be not a sociopath.

To be a great poker player you must excel in many forms and be adpatable. View this as a learning experience and try to adjust to various situations.

If you insist on topping off, buy extra and keep them in your pocket. That way at least you're not bugging anyone, but people may suspect you're adding them even when you're up. Just play short stacked, stop trying to rape your friends. You'll get the money eventually.

[pfapfap]

Sorry for the double post, but I was reminded of this...

In one of my goofier games... it's full of people who know full well how to play, but they love having a crazy maniac fest... anyway, once a few months back one of the bigger fish but nicer guys went bust and accidentally got dealt in a hand. I threw a buck on it as a blind all-in, and of course everyone called it to be fun and give him a shot. AKs. Repeat for a few hands that happen to be either monsters or hit weird, and suddenly he's up to over $40. He lost it all back, of course, but that's the power of one chip.

Fast forward to this week's game, and somehow we started throwing a chip to the guy we busted out for the same sort of thing. After a while it added an interesting element to the game, as you knew who'd be an all-in and where, and you could adjust your play accordingly. This time a rather tricky player was able to get that dollar up to $40 before crazy-ing it off, but granted that took a few starts.

Now, this may be a bit extreme for some folks, and it took me a while to properly adjust to this game (but last night ran over it, ha), but maximum return doesn't always mean having the most chips possible at all points. It means being a team player while subtly controlling your surroundings.