A rebuy is the purchase of a new stack of chips in a poker tournament. Within a window set when the tournament starts, usually the first few levels, a player who has lost chips can pay another buy-in and get a stack to carry on with. In cash games the term simply means topping your stack back up between hands.
What does rebuy mean in poker?
Rebuy means buying in again: the player pays the buy-in a second time and receives another stack without ever leaving the tournament. In most tournaments a rebuy is only available while your stack is at or below the starting stack, and only during the rebuy period, which usually runs for one to two hours. Some tournaments allow a single rebuy, others allow unlimited rebuys inside the window, and there is also the double rebuy, where you buy two stacks at once. Every amount paid in rebuys goes into the prize pool, which is why rebuy tournaments often finish well above their advertised guarantee. When the period closes there is normally one last chance to buy in, the add-on.
How the rebuy period works
The rebuy period is announced in the lobby before the tournament starts, and it always follows the same logic:
- The window. It lasts a fixed number of levels, usually the first four to six. After that, nobody buys chips.
- The stack condition. In almost every tournament you can only rebuy if your stack is equal to or smaller than the starting stack. A big stack cannot buy.
- How many. One rebuy, a limited number or unlimited, depending on the tournament.
- The add-on. At the end of the period everyone can buy chips one last time, whatever their stack. The add-on commonly gives more chips than a rebuy for the same price.
- The prize pool. Every rebuy and every add-on is added to the prize pool, which is only closed once the window ends.
Rebuy vs re-entry vs add-on
All three increase what you have invested in the tournament, but they happen at different moments:
| Format | When it happens | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Rebuy | During the rebuy period, without leaving the tournament | Players at or below the starting stack |
| Re-entry | After being eliminated, as a fresh entry | Players who lost every chip, within the entry window |
| Add-on | Once only, at the end of the rebuy period | Every player, on any stack |
The practical difference between a rebuy and a re-entry is that with a rebuy you stay in the same seat and keep your table; with a re-entry you are eliminated and come back as if you were a different player, normally at another table.
Is it worth rebuying?
It depends on what the tournament actually costs. A rebuy tournament advertised at $10 can end up costing $30 or $40 once you have bought in twice more and paid the add-on, and it is that total that has to fit your bankroll management, not the buy-in on the label. On the other side, the rebuy period tends to be the loosest phase of the tournament: plenty of players take marginal spots knowing they can buy again, which raises variance and also creates opportunities for anyone willing to pay to stay in. The calculation that matters is a simple one. If you do not plan to rebuy or take the add-on, you will play most of the tournament at a chip disadvantage against the people who did.
To see which rebuy tournaments are running right now across the main poker sites, check today’s tournament schedule, with the buy-in, guarantee and start time for each one. To see how this format compares with the others, read the difference between freezeout, rebuy and knockout tournaments. If you play on more than one site, Lobbyze brings every schedule into a single screen, with filters by buy-in and start time and alerts before registration closes.
