You're mixing your analysis of tournament and cash games. There is no rake in a tournament, at least not in the same fashion. Also, I'm not aware of a tournamen

You're mixing your analysis of tournament and cash games. There is no rake in a tournament, at least not in the same fashion. Also, I'm not aware of a tournament that allows rebuys or top-ups that give a stack larger than the initial stack. I don't really play tournaments, though. Cash games only. I play often enough. If the table is too tight, I go loose and take all the blinds. Sure, beating the rake can be tough, but it's not impossible.