Strategies for unusual shootout format?

Lucky Chances next week is having a $200 buyin shootout format limit hold'em tournament. The top 2 players from each of the 10 tables get consolidated and then the stacks are reset. Then the top 5 players from each of the 2 remaining tables are consolidated and stacks are reset again and finally the final table is played.


What strategy changes should I consider if I play in this event particularly for the first table? Here are my thoughts: A big stack should not try and push around the smaller stacks quite as much as he normally would because the value of busting other players isn't as great, especially on the bubble. Is that even true or only true near the bubble? What other things should I think about?

I'd say that a big stack should push around the smaller stacks even more, as his chips are worth much less than normal (since the stacks are reset)


> the value of busting other players isn't as great, especially on the bubble.


This seems counterintuitive to me. I would think that busting out other players (instead of slowly building your stack) gets profitable much earlier than in usual formats. Waiting seems OK if you got more than 1/2 of all chips, but if you're the 2nd stack with 1/4 of the chips and 6 players remaining, you don't profit if 2 or 3 small stacks eliminate themselves. I'd rather engage them as long as their stacks are small, than having to deal with the survivers who's stacks can cripple or bust me.


cu


Ignatius