What Is the Difference Between Rebuy And Re-Entry?

What Is a Re-Entry?

Re-entry is an option to return to the tournament after being busted out and losing all of your chips. Usually, re-entering follows these rules:

• You can’t re-enter without leaving the live tournament area or exiting the online tournament after being busted out.
• You can re-enter only during the late registration period.
• You pay the buy-in again and receive the starting stack.
• You are seated at a table with a free seat after paying for a re-entry — and it’s often not the same table you were busted from.
• The number of available re-entries per participant varies between operators and events.
• Some tournaments have unlimited re-entry options, while others allow only a limited number.

What Is a Rebuy?

A rebuy is an option to pay for additional chips to add to your existing stack in the tournament. Its rules vary slightly between operators but commonly include:

• You can buy additional chips after losing your entire stack or after losing enough to qualify for a rebuy as a refill.
• You can make a rebuy only during the late registration or designated rebuy period, which may last a few levels longer than late registration.
• You don’t bust out or lose your seat at the table when making a rebuy.

Tournaments with rebuys often also allow an add-on — a one-time option to purchase additional chips at a specific stage, usually immediately after the late registration or rebuy period ends. An add-on normally provides more chips than a standard buy-in or rebuy.

When Did Re-Entries and Rebuys First Appear in Live Poker?

Unfortunately, we can’t clearly state which live poker tournament was the first to use rebuys. But we found a few early rebuy events that are considered inaugural for different poker brands. For example:

• WSOP — $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha on May 3, 1984. It collected 108 entries, 60 rebuys, and a prize pool of $168,000. The winner was U.S. poker player William Bennet, who claimed his first bracelet and a top prize of $84,000.
• WPT — $10 NLH Costa Rica Classic on October 13, 2002. It collected 268 entries, 5,526 rebuys, and a prize pool of $55,145. The winner was U.S. poker player Herb Van Dyke, who took home $20,000.

As for a tournament with re-entry, according to WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage, the first ever was the $335 NLH at the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic.

It featured a unique format where you could re-enter the tournament only the next day, without the option of immediate re-entry after busting out. It attracted 5,847 entries and created a $1,683,936 prize pool. The winner was U.S. poker player Darrell Cain, who earned a career-best cash of $363,936.