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So is it fair to say the value of position is like an upside down parabola during the tournament.... from early stages through the middle stages and finally during the final stages?

I am not discounting importance of position but I am asking whether there's a theoretical shift in its importance throughout the tournament?

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i wouldn't say a parabola, i'd say a straight upward diagonal. position is even more important at the end of the tourny. Yes, aggression can pay off at a final table, but aggression is high risk/high reward, usually taking position into consideration (especially at a full final table). If you were to to say this was a parabola, it would only curve downward as it got down to fewer players.