Clever or crazy? The all-in phenomenon in rebuy tournaments.

Something very strange is happening in the world of poker. Or the world of rebuy tournaments to be more precise. The chances are you’ve seen it, probably laughed at it, but did you stop to think what was happening?

It goes like this. You sit down at a rebuy tournament and bang. First hand someone raises all-in. The table politely folds and you allow yourself a smirk – we’ve got a live one here you think.

Two hands later and bang. He’s all-in again. The table folds and this time the aggressive player shows his 74off. He’s after a reaction and gets it. The “lol” merchants type their way a step nearer to Repetitive Strain Injury while a more forthright player may offer his opinion simply as “Muppet”.

Next hand. Bang. All-in. The table erupts. The insults fly, accusations of ruining the game abound and our all-in hero decides to reply: “It’s my money. I’ll play how I like. Call me,” he goads.

So what’s going on? Is he an idiot? More money than sense? Only his all in button work? Or could it be you’re witnessing the start of a new ultra-aggressive rebuy tournament strategy?

Eh? Well, our online friend is not alone. The strategy is being seen offline too. And at the World Series of Poker no less. Phil Ivey, one of the games’ fastest rising stars made 17 rebuys in a $1000 rebuy event at the WSOP on April 28th. In two hours! But that was nothing compared to Daniel Negreanu. The Canadian managed 27 rebuys. And you know what? He came second, picked up $100,940 and pocketed more than $72,000 in profit for his efforts.

So what’s going on? It’s a hot topic among poker’s chattering types who believe a new style of play could be emerging. The idea behind it seems clear enough. Fields are growing at a staggering rate as the game’s popularity increases.

With the growing fields come weaker players. Their poor play can leave other players with larger than usual stacks at the end of the rebuy period. If you’re on another table that leaves you at a disadvantage.

So why not load your table with chips instead? And then use your playing skills to win the chips back. So back to our online player. Why the hell not buy in 10 times for $10 if you can be chip leader with 20 times the number of chips you started with after an hour?

Ask yourself this. Where would you rather be at the end of the rebuys? Doubling your chips through careful play with a small chance of making the big money or increasing your stack 20 fold with a fantastic chance of a top 3 finish – and massive profit – after you revert back to good solid play?

It’s a debate that’s only just starting but some things are for sure. Your friendly all-in merchant loosens up your table. Chips fly. It’s a wild game as other players drop their standards to call him in the hope they can double through if he’s bluffing. Everyone on the table has the opportunity to build their stacks above the usual levels for that stage in a tournament.

So does it work? Well, it didn’t that time for Phil Ivey. He finished 34th and got just $4,420 back. But it did for Negreanu, whose $70k+ profit will no doubt help finance another all-in blitz. As for online. Well, just take a look at which people are repeatedly making the final tables. You may be surprised!

Of course, there are dangers with such a wild style of play. Your bankroll gets giddy from all the yo-yoing up and down and, online especially, there’s always a chance that you’ll be moved tables before the hour rebuy period is up thus losing the chance to get all those chips you’ve pumped onto the table back.

Some players, wise to your intentions, will also simply flat call in front of you when they’re sat on monster hands, hoping for you to go all in to give them an easy double through.

The system won’t work for every player either. There’s no point in building a big stack at the cost of several rebuys if you’re not good enough to ride that stack to the big money places when the rebuy period finishes.

Whether the idea dies as its exponents discover that actually it doesn’t work over time, or whether it does emerge as a genuine tournament winning strategy, only time will tell.

But one thing for certain is this – more and more players, both strong and weak, are going to give it a go. So don’t just laugh. As Negreanu said:

“All those people were laughing at me in the beginning – what an idiot! What an idiot! Well, they all lost two or three thousand. Well, I made $70-something thousand and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.”

Enjoy the ride.