What tips do you have for staying in it when your up

[Spree]

In most MTT's I play in I have no problem making it to the last 25% of the pool but it seems like when I get a good amount of chips and I move up to like 10-20th place I can't seem to hold on. Somewhere along the line i'll make a bad call or catch a bad beat and it all goes south, then instead of pushing towards the final table I'm trying to tread water to limp into the bottom part of the money (which the success rate for that varies). What strategies do you guys use to stay in it once you build a stack?

[Spree]

?

[Cleveland Guy]

First a piece of general advice. I can tell your new, but please wait more than 2 hours before bumping your own threads.

Now for your question. One thing I have found myself doing is making a bad call because I am "Bored" while waiting. I will open up a cheap SnG, or a cheap ring game, usually below my normal level. I figure that this way I'm not itching to play in pots I shouldn't, as I am getting action from my ring game. I can be more patient in the big MTT.

That and just practice over time will help you improve. There is no magic formula for winning once making the top 20, but don't think people are all bluffing either and that most pots can be bought.

[zaxx19]

Sometimes i see players become total call stations with a big stack. This is sometimes good(people wont bluff at yu) but many times they get read as stations and people just shove medium bet after medium bet at them...

[JasonK]

Once I build up stack bigger than most of the table I bluff a lot more. If you have good position you can bet enough to get smaller stacks to lay down decent hands without risking much of your own stack.

[Shilly]

[ QUOTE ]
Once I build up stack bigger than most of the table I bluff a lot more. If you have good position you can bet enough to get smaller stacks to lay down decent hands without risking much of your own stack.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. You need to lean on the short stacks, especially when they display any weakness. Try to put yourself in their situation--would you want to risk your tournament life with something like a pocket pair with two overcards on the board? Take advantage of scare cards and force smaller stacks to pay for their draws.

Also, I would suggest avoiding tangling with a big stack when you have only a marginal hand. If you miss the flop with something like AQo, you might have to let the pot go. Don't let yourself get into a situation where bluffing at a pot will get you in serious trouble.