Paradise Tournament observation

Seem to me that getting to 1 through 4 is easy (normally). Once there it's basically a crap shoot. You have 2000 chips and you're betting 400/800 to 1000/2000.


I've lost many times with the better hand just protecting my blind.


Is it me? or is the real skill just getting to the top 3 and then you're just throwing the dice.

I think when it gets short handed, there is less difference between really bad play and good play.

But there's still a difference. At this stage it is important to have been observing your opponents.