Strategies for HUGE Tournaments

[michaelkozlowski]

What do you do for tournaments with between 5000 and 20000 players? Playing tight early is good since it is a bingo fest early, but if you wait for premium hands too long, you find yourself 25000 chips behind early and growing. I have hit the cash in these monsters, but I end up usually playing to make the cash, not win the tournament. So I am asking what strategies you employ early to stay in touch of the big stack, and is there ever a period where you can sit on your stack and wait it out?

Thanks.

[Alnoble]

One problem with playing too tight early on is when you get the premium cards you don't get paid. Try to see some cheap flops with suited conecters and other odd hands. But remember fold if you don't get a good flop don't chase.

Don't try to catch the big stacks eary just try to keep above the average. Quite often the early big stacks are just lucky fish who soon loose it once play gets serious.

Take advantage of the tight play close to the bubble to improve your stack with blind steals etc.

Once the bubble has past watch out for the short stacks pushing with almost anything, with care you can take their chips.

You can never sit on your stack and wait it out but if you do have a big stack protect it donot risk it on 50 50 hands.

[PLAYFUL1]

PLAYFUL SAYS 2 PLAY UR BUTTONS AND BLINDS..AND LET THE DONKS PLAY THRU...YOU WILL GO FAR IN ANY TOURNEY...TRUST ME MAKE THE BIG BUCKS

[Ramster]

I dont usually play tourneys with so many runners
but i have tried the PS UK freerolls this weekend
They have both had about 8k entries
Early doors pre flop i just limped in with monsters and called any raises
Then just played aiof in position
It seemed to work
I cashed in both i played
as far as going deep i think you just gotta be very lucky

[eberetta1]

I played in a tourney today that had over 4000 players, and the top 300 get paid.
It really helps to win 4 to 8 hands of all in to have a chance to be in the money.

The other thing I do is I do not play in tourneys if they pay less than 15% or 10% of the players playing , as in the money, so if there are 10,000 players, it better pay
preferably 1500 players, and a minimum payouts of 1000 players, else I won't join in.

Now todays, I came in the top 300 and position 1 and 2 payed a $14000 prize package.
I knew if I wanted that I had to loosen up my game. I came in the top 300 easily, like my 4th time in this tourney out of playing it 5 times. But with 88 players remaining, I went in with JJ to lose to an AK.

Just divide the number of players by 1, and that is your percentage chance of winning, so if your chance is 1 in 10,000, then the sooner you enter a big tourney 10,000 times the sooner it will be your turn to win.

[rayjoel7]

I really fear “HUGE Tournaments” but sincerely believe that these are the places where I can show (to myself and others) that I can perform well. Even it is not bad to enter early into a huge tournaments as you might take time to adjust to the environment.