Against Massive Chip Leader

[ZManODS]

How would you play head up against the chip leader that has about 3-4 times your stack size?

Is it pretty pointless to try to steal blinds? Should you just fold and go all in with your decent/good/great hands?

[LetsRock]

It would depend on the player, but you're right, it usually is pointless to try too many steals. You pretty much need to catch a couple of good hands pretty quick and hope you can double through. I've been on both sides of this battle and have won/lost from both positions. Late in a tourney, it largely comes down to who gets the best cards unless your opponent is extremely tight or extremely aggressive.

Mini bets are pretty useless - I pretty much check (fold) or shove in this spot unless my opponent is very passive and will let me take a few blinds from him.

Of course this does depend on the blinds - if the blinds are still real low (it happens occasionally) you can afford to be a little more playful (see a few cheap flops and try a few small raises). Usually, when you're this deep in a tourney the blinds are at least 10% of your short stack so you need to get lucky quickly.