Early stages strategy for pocket monsters

[GreggyB]

In the early stages of a SnG is your primary goal to pick up small pots or win huge pots? I find that when I have a big hands PF I'm shutting people out after the flop if I hit it (for instance, AK w/ Kxx flop I'm moving all-in knowing I won't get a call).

My thought is that I'd rather have a 90% chance of increasing my stack by a couple hundred chips as opposed to a 60% chance of doubling up and 40% go broke. But, the saying goes "scared money never wins".

How do you guys play big hands in the early stages? Do you play to win big, or to not lose big?
Greg

[Losing all]

I don't slowplay much. Push, let them make a huge mistake, if they want.

[benjdm]

especially with the loose /bad players still in at beginning of tourney, protect your chips and don't waste fancy moves on the clueless.

[george w of poker]

well, i just started playing sit n go's but being a successful ring game player this strategy makes no sense to me.
i would never move in on this flop after a normal preflop raise unless a pot size bet is for more than 50% of your stack. depending on what buyin level you are playing at moving all is rarely going to get called by worse hands. but, if you bet the pot and someone moves in on you, you have a pretty easy fold. and a lot of times you will bet the pot and get called by KQ, KJ where they wouldn't have called an all in.

am i wrong?

[GreggyB]

I agree that in ring games I'd play this much differently... I guess that's the heart of my question is how different you play in a tournament. In the early stages when the loose fish are still around do you want to run the risk of someone with KQ calling and catching the queen on the river... In tournaments, especially in the early stages you hear that the primary goal is to conserve chips... how far do you take this strategy? Do you settle for the PF calls that's in the pot of do you take a chance that you could get sucked out? However, you're right, by pushing in I'm definitely risking that someone slowplaying trips is going to wipe me out. Perhaps you play it strong, but now *too* strong. Neither underplay nor overplay your hand I suppose.

Again, just a new kid looking for advice from the experts... thanks alot for your replies.

Greg

ps - perhaps this strategy is the reason I tend to either win first as I have a commanding chip lead about half-way through the tourney and ride it to the end... or finish fourth, short stacked for the majority of the tourney after getting minimal value on my premium hands.

[37offsuit]

If I'm EP, I might check and then raise all in to get more chips in the pot. If I'm late, a push seems good to me, or at least an oversized bet. Sometimes I'll bet all my chips minus say $100. This seems to tell people top pair with kicker problem because I find I get called by weaker top pairs when I do that.