[Koss]

In larger events where say, 70 or more spots pay out, I'll slow down early too, because I can usually sneak up a pay spot or two by letting all the people who snuck into the money bust out. It's usually possible to get to that 2nd or 3rd tier on the pay scale by tightening up a bit once the bubble bursts. Then once all the crazies are gone I'll make my last push to try and make it deep. This works better on some sites than others depending on the payscale. Shortstacks start busting at an alarming rate once the bubble bursts.

It depends on my stack size. If I'm a really small stack, I'm still going to need to make some moves and fast, so I'm ignoring the jump in pay from one spot to the next until I can secure enough chips that I'm comfortable. If I'm averagish I'll stay out of pots for a while only coming in with premium hands hoping to bust out the now desperate players who are so happy to be in the money they are now pushing trash. Either way I'm going to need to make a push to get to the final table or whatnot, but if I can I'll tighten up to secure some extra $$ before shifting gears.

I'm not sure if this is optimal strategy or not, but it seems to work for me!