[Rusty266]

I'm not going to follow either ones advice.

Is there an option C?

Player C) Someone who plays to win or at least finish top 3 at all times, and believes that anything worse is a waste of time, but someone who also understands that to finish first, first you have to finish.


Maybe thats a combination of both A & B, I don't know. Playing to slide into the money is ridiculous, not to mention worthless, and getting knocked out early is unthinkable and almost inexcusable. I mean whats the point? You take the ultimate risk so you can possibly have have a big stack early? That can be an important thing, but unfortunately it guarantees nothing. In most situations, you are 2 hands from being knocked out of the tournament regardless of your stack. Having a big stack early can and should accomplish one thing though. It should guarantee you an above average chance of putting yourself in a position to get lucky in the later stages of the tournament. And thats the whole deal anyway. To win, or make the top 3, or final table, whatever your goal is, you must put yourself in position to get lucky when it matters.

And I've done it both ways. I've had the big stack early, stayed near the top the whole tournament, and ended up winning. And I've hung around at or just below the average chip stack, got lucky when it mattered, and won.

My preference would be to have the early lead, but the bottom line is, it can happen either way. You take what the tournament gives you. If you get the cards or the opportunities to build a stack early, thats a great thing. But if not, do not despair. Its a lot easier to make it to the top late, than it is early. Only if you are still in the tournament of course.