Michael Grackz has only attended all of the big tournaments in the last four years, but has amassed $2.89 million in career winnings. The 27-year-old made his first jackpot at the Trump Classic in 2004 when he received $300'000 for a win.
His next big break was winning the Limit Hold'em World Poker Tour and winning his first WSOP bracelet in the summer of 2005. Grakz will attribute their success to their ability to adjust to the game. And this skill is especially important in Rebuy tournaments.
Everyone knows that you need to play more loosely in rebuys than in a regular tournament, because you have spare chances in the form of rebuys. This means that you can expand the range of your playable cards without getting too carried away. I often exploit the weakness of players who are very loose. If I know that a player is using a very wide range of cards, I will adjust my range and only enter the pot with him when I am confident that my cards are much higher than his range.
In re-buys, after the flop, many players are very fond of putting all-in on any draw, so at the beginning of the tournament top pair with any kicker is one of the most profitable combinations. Towards the end of the rebuy period, many short stacks will start moving their chips to the center of the table in the hope of either doubling up or being able to rebuy. At this point I usually get aggressive with marginal cards like AQ or any medium pocket pair. I want to take risks when the rebuy period comes to an end, because I know that others want to risk even more. Many players like to take add-ons, but I only use this opportunity when the add-on adds more than 20% to my stack. If less, I believe that my stack is sufficient and there is no reason to spend extra money.
By Michael Grackz
English 
Russian