Musings on STTs

[slapdash]

On the rare occasions that I've been the big stack in the middle stages of a STT, I've noticed that it's particularly easy to pick up lots of small pots by being aggressive, as medium stacks don't want to get involved with you and risk being knocked out. I'm not sure that I've quite got the hang of taking full advantage of this, but it may be a pretty large advantage if you do get the hang of it. Might this mean that it's worth taking more risks early to build a large stack than you might otherwise do? Most of the STTs I play are in the $5 to $50 buyin range. Things may be different at very low or high buyins. Thoughts?

[Valiant23]

Re: Musings on STTs

Might this mean that it's worth taking more risks early to build a large stack than you might otherwise do?

This question has bugged me all morning, but I can't quite put my finger on why exactly. I think its because my answer is no, but I can't express why. Sorry... :$ Actually scrap that. I can. :D The payout structure of an STT is such that it isn't about getting as many chips as possible, its more about survival, so the game you play (or should I say I try to play) is similar to the game I try to play when approaching the bubble in an MTT with a less than average stack. In other words I'm prepared to wait for a decent hand and play it hard when I get it. Another thing is in the early stages of an STT I think it's important to try and get a read on the table, such as who are the fish, who are the steady players, good players to watch out for etc... Once I've done that I find I'm more capable of knowing what I can get away with against these types. For example I'm confident of bluffing a good player off a pot than I am a poor player and so I adjust my game accordingly. My strategy often leaves me as a shorter stack by the middle stages, but I find it doesn't hinder me too greatly, and I have on occasion been very short stacked and been prepared to wait while the LAG's left lock horns. I do think that the argument you're making does have some merits though.