Trouble with later levels in STT with good stack

[minwoo]

Hi,
Unlike almost everyone on here, I play STT's on Paradise...with a starting chip stack of 1000, 10 players. I thought I was a pretty seasoned player as I have had really good streaks in the past. However, the past few days have made me realized that I still have alot to learn. I would greatly appreciate some advice on my problem from "REAL" seasoned pros on this forum.

Here is my problem:
I almost ways seem to have NO problem accumulating chips in the early rounds of (5/10, 10/20, 15/30) blind levels. So I enter the (30/60, 50/100) levels with a good chip stack...anywhere from 1900 - 2800 chips. Now this is 20% - 30% of the chips that are in play. However, starting from (50/100) level and especially the (100/200) level, somehow I almost always seem to do something that causes me to lose my chips and end up in 3rd or even worse 4th. This has happened so often, that even with a huge stack earlier in the game...I am VERY cynical about even placing in the money. After reading many posts here, it seems that blind stealing in the later levels is essential for placing 1st or 2nd ITM. However, whenever I try to blind steal, the player seems to take a stand and push it all-in and I am forced to call his all-in at the(100/200) level with marginal hands such as A2 - A6 or Kx and such. Is it just better off to go into all-in mode (fold or push) at the (50/100) or (100/200) levels even with a chipstack of 2000+
with any hands A 10 and up, KJ, KQ, and any PP ? I have always hated doing this because... for this to backfire, someone just has to wake up with any premium hand to pick me off. Should I just give up trying to blind steal? (as it always seems to backfire on me) The past few games, I have given up blind stealing and started playing my cards....raising only wtih premium cards (A J and up) and high PPs. The result has been that I enter the (150/300), (250/500) levels with 4 players still remaining and my stack size has been reduced to sub-1800 chips...forcing me to go all-in with any Ax hand...and then sucking out in 4th.

All comments are greatly appreciated!

[MrFeelNothin]

Just a couple questions for you in an attempt to get deeper into the problem.

How much do you usually raise to on your "steals"?
What positions are you trying to steal from and against what stacks?
What specifically is causing you to be unable to lay down to reraises?
With how many players left are you switching into "steal" mode?

For me, there are some games where I have numerous opportunities and survive solely by stealing blinds. However, at other times, whether because the players to my left are loose with big stacks, or I've been getting raised out or whatever it may be, sometimes there just aren't opportunities and if you try to force it, you will end up losing your stack. I noticed you talking a lot about getting into trouble with Ax and Kx. These hands should not be played very often, and the majority of the time will just get you in trouble. Without knowing much about your play, I would suggest mucking these hands more often. This is especially true when you have a big stack, remember that in a tournament every chip you lose is worth more than every chip you gain, so when you do accumulate that big stack you generally want to tighten up, except in situations where you can use your stack advantage to manipulate and push other players. It sounds like you might be playing these tourneys pretty loosely, which will often result in a big stack early on, however I bet you also have a lot of early bust outs just from what sounds like an aggressive style of play.

If you post some hand histories on here you would probably get some more insightful advice

[minwoo]

Actually, I play tight-aggressive throughout the game. The only reason I am able to accumulate chips is because I get hands like AA or KK and trap loose players or because I hit a draw which I "correctly" draw to. But when I stop getting hands (which is often the case once the blinds hit 100/200), I tighten up tremendously while others start pushing...eventually i fold enough big blinds that the other players have just as much chips as me or in many cases, I become the short stack. And by that time...the blinds hit (150/300) or (250/500) which forces me to push in with hands I normally wouldn't push with. You may wonder why I have to push with these hands...well, the blinds at this point are too big, about 25% of my stack, and I personally think being blinded away is the worst way to go. Would you agree? So I push with any Ax, K7 or higher, and any PP. Also, I do the standard blind steals...stealing from button, small blind, and from one off the button. When I steal, I raise about 2.5x BB..because at this point, the blinds are high enough that if someone is going to lay down, 2.5x BB should be enough. Blind stealing also seems to be a major cause of my chip loss. When a blind steal backfires and the player pushes for most of my chips, i fold, losing alot of chips because of the steal attempt. When blinds are 100/200 and I raise to 500 to steal and have to fold...500 chips, that's easily about 1/5 - 1/4 of my stack. The games where I suck out at fourth most often are where the blinds hit 50/100 - 100/200 and there are still 6 or more players left. I'm starting to think maybe it is normal for this to happen because 6 players left at those levels means everyone is playing tight which decreases my chance for ITM. But if everyone is playing that tight, why can't successfuly steal blinds??!! LOL...well I look forward to more comments. Thanks!!