Poker Rebuy Rules: Rebuys vs Re-Entries vs Add-Ons
A rebuy buys you another starting stack while the rebuy period is open, traditionally only when your stack is at or below the starting stack. A re-entry is a brand-new entry after you bust: new seat, new stack, counted as another entrant. An add-on is a single extra stack offered to everyone at the end of the rebuy period whatever their chip count, and it is usually the cheapest chips of the night. All three close at the same point — the rebuy cutoff — which is normally a break in the first third of the tournament.
What a rebuy actually is
A rebuy is buying chips, not buying a seat. In a rebuy tournament the organiser opens a rebuy period — the first few levels — and during it you can hand over another buy-in for another starting stack. The classic condition is that your stack has to be at or below the starting stack: rebuys exist so that a player who has lost their chips can keep playing, not so the chip leader can buy a bigger lead. Your seat, your entry and your place in the field all stay the same; only your stack changes.
- •The money goes into the prize pool. Every rebuy adds its buy-in to the prizes, minus whatever fee the organiser takes, which is why rebuy events have prize pools far larger than the field size suggests.
- •The chips are created, not moved. A rebuy adds new chips to the tournament, so the average stack rises and the tournament takes longer to finish.
- •You normally have to be short. At or below the starting stack is the standard condition. Some home games allow a rebuy only when you are all the way out.
Rebuy vs re-entry: the difference that matters
A re-entry is a new entry. You busted, you are out, and you register again as though you had just arrived: new entry number, new starting stack, and usually a new seat drawn at random. For the player the feel is similar — pay again, keep playing — but three things differ, and they are the reason organisers have mostly moved to re-entry.
- •The count is entries, not players. A 40-player event with 15 re-entries is a 55-entry event. Payout tables, satellite seats and prize-pool maths all key off entries.
- •You have to bust first. A rebuy can be taken while you still have chips (if you are short); a re-entry only exists once you have none.
- •Your seat changes. Re-entry means a fresh draw, so you can end up at a different table with different opponents. A rebuy leaves you exactly where you were.
- •Single or unlimited. Events advertise "one re-entry" or "unlimited re-entry until the end of late registration". Unlimited re-entry with a deep-pocketed field is the format that draws the most complaints, and it is worth stating which one you are running before anyone sits down.
Add-ons: the best-value chips in the tournament
An add-on is a one-time purchase offered to every player still in at the moment the rebuy period closes, regardless of stack size. Two things make it different from a rebuy: you do not have to be short to take it, and it is often priced generously — the same buy-in frequently buys a larger stack than the one you started with. That combination means the default answer is yes.
- •Everyone gets one. The chip leader and the short stack pay the same and receive the same.
- •It arrives exactly when chips get scarce. The add-on lands at the point where the blinds have grown enough to matter, so the chips buy real playing time rather than another orbit of folding.
- •Decline it only when the chips change nothing. If you already have a huge stack relative to the blinds and the extra chips would not change a single decision, passing is defensible. That is rarer than people think — in most structures the add-on is the cheapest equity available all night.
When rebuys close
All three close at the same moment, and the standard is a break in the first third of the tournament — commonly the break after level four in a home game, or the end of late registration in a cardroom. The reason to attach it to a break rather than a level number is practical: nobody buys in halfway through a level, the chip count is known, and the add-on can be handed out to everybody at once. After the cutoff the field is fixed, the prize pool is final, and the tournament becomes a freezeout for everyone left.
- •Bust before the cutoff, you may rebuy. Bust after it, you are done. Announce the exact point before the first hand.
- •A rebuy or add-on is taken at the break. Not mid-hand, not mid-level, and not on credit.
- •The cutoff decides the structure. More chips mean more levels, so a rebuy tournament needs a schedule built for the extra chips rather than the freezeout schedule with an asterisk.
Is it worth rebuying? The honest answer
You are buying chips, and chips are only worth what they can win. The two things that decide it are the price of the chips relative to what everyone else holds, and whether the field you are buying into is one you beat. If the average stack is well above the starting stack, your rebuy buys a below-average stack and you are paying full price for less than the field already has. If the average stack is near or below the starting stack — normal early in a rebuy event — the chips are good value.
- •Compare the stack you get to the average stack, not to the one you lost. A starting stack is a big stack at level one and a short one at level six.
- •The prize pool grows with every rebuy, including yours. You are buying into a larger pool than the one you originally entered, which is part of why rebuy events reward players who are willing to fire again.
- •Skill edge decides the close calls. The rebuy is a fresh investment in the same tournament: worth it if you are one of the better players left, questionable if you are not.
- •Never rebuy on tilt. The one rule every experienced player agrees on. If the reason is that the last hand was unfair rather than that the chips are good value, put your wallet away.
What rebuys do to the night (the host's side)
Rebuys and add-ons multiply the chips in play, and the chips in play decide how long the tournament runs. A field that rebuys freely can finish with half again as many chips as it started with, which means more levels before the blinds catch up, a deeper final table, and a later finish than the schedule promised. Plan for it: build the structure with rebuys switched on, set the cutoff where you want it, and post both.
- •Pick the cutoff first, then build the schedule around it. The cutoff is a rule; the finish time is a consequence.
- •Count the chips, not the players. Total chips divided by the final big blind is what tells you whether the end of the night is playable or a coin-flipping contest.
- •Write down whether a rebuy carries a new bounty. In a bounty event it normally does, and that grows the bounty pool as well as the prize pool.
- •Take the money up front. A rebuy paid for later is an IOU, and IOUs are the thing that ends home games.
The rulings that come up
Three questions come up in every rebuy tournament, and none of them has to be a debate if the answer is on the sheet before the cards are in the air.
- •Can I rebuy while I still have chips? Standard: yes, if your stack is at or below the starting stack. Many home games simplify it to "only when you are out".
- •I busted just before the cutoff — can I still rebuy? Yes. The cutoff is a moment in time, and busting before it leaves you eligible. What you cannot do is bust after it and buy back in.
- •Does the add-on come before or after the break? At the break, all at once, and the level does not start until everyone who wants one has it.
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Frequently asked
What is a rebuy in poker?
A rebuy is buying another starting stack during a tournament's rebuy period, traditionally only allowed when your stack is at or below the starting stack. It adds chips to the tournament and money to the prize pool, and you keep your seat and your original entry.
What is the difference between a rebuy and a re-entry?
A rebuy tops up your stack while you are still in the tournament, usually only when you are at or below the starting stack. A re-entry is a brand-new entry after you have busted: new stack, new seat, and counted as another entrant, which is why re-entry events report entries rather than players. Both close at the same point in the schedule.
What is an add-on in poker?
A single extra stack offered to every remaining player when the rebuy period closes, whatever their chip count. It is often priced as a bigger stack for the same buy-in, and it arrives at the moment the blinds start to bite, so taking it is usually correct unless you are already so deep that the extra chips change no decisions.
When do rebuys close in a poker tournament?
At the rebuy cutoff, which is normally a break in the first third of the tournament — commonly the break after level four in a home game, or the end of late registration in a cardroom. Attaching it to a break means nobody buys in mid-level and everyone takes their add-on at the same time.
Is it worth taking a rebuy?
It depends on what the chips cost relative to what everyone else has. If the average stack is at or below the starting stack, the rebuy is good value; if the average is well above it, you are paying full price for a below-average stack. The other half of the question is whether you beat the field you are buying back into — and the one situation where the answer is always no is when you are rebuying because the last hand was unfair.
Do rebuys increase the prize pool?
Yes. Every rebuy, re-entry and add-on adds its buy-in to the prize pool, minus any fee. A rebuy event with a small field can have a prize pool several times the entry count times the buy-in, which is why the payout structure should be worked out after the cutoff rather than before the first hand.
Can you rebuy in a freezeout?
No — that is what freezeout means. One buy-in each, and busting out ends your tournament. If you want the action of a rebuy event without the bookkeeping, a single re-entry until the first break is the usual compromise.
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