What is your strategy for satellite tournaments?

I would like to know because I dont seem to do well in satellites and I want to improve my game.

Typical TAG strategy until you approach the bubble.

Attack the stacks that you have coverd but the ones that are not the shortest stacks at the table. The mid range stacks cant afford to take a risk if there is a small stack there on life support.

Remember if top ten advances. 10th pays same as 1st.

It does radically depend on the satellite structure and also on player tendencies. turbos and hyper turbos require different strats to normal satellites, I have a very good Satellite history and generally play satellites the way I would play normal tournaments. It is only at the end I differ significantly. towards the end typically there are two tables sometimes 3 if your on a single table obviously you need only focus on your own. but if two or three tables when it reaches hand for hand on the bubble always try to force the other tables to act first watch the other tables and if your going to shove regardless of whether you have AA or K2 try and make sure your the last to act if you can obviously if you want to shove dont let it time out and auto fold you but always try to act after all the other tables where ever u can on the bubble only remember.

generally you want to try stay out of trouble you gamble more when you have a short stack because you have to, and when you have a healthy stack you want to stay away from trouble. You want to keep a healthy stack by stealing when it safe to in early position only play monsters on the bubble AK AA KK QQ
middle position I guess u can add JJ and AQ and late position if on the button or SB and the blinds healthy shove with any two cards unless they are
1. Stupid
2. massive stack can easily call lose and be healhty
3. short stacked and desperate

they can't call unless they have a huge huge hand its not in there interest there not playing to get the biggest stack there playing to make the bubble and if there 90% to make the bubble anyway they shouldn't risk it on a 70/30 situation, If you jeopardize there stack use this as a weapon.

I am assuming of course that you all have stacks of 12BB or less as is typical for the bubble stage, if you still have more then 20bb or most of the other players do, do not start playing like this.

also note the reason you are watching the other tables is to hope one guy busts if, ideally you want to see there hand played out.

if one guy busts and you have already made the bubble fold every hand holding even AA, you already got the top prize why risk it?

Play tight!!! lol
Look to maintain a stack with some fold equity so that when it gets close to (or on) bubble, you will have a decent stack to shove with when you're needing to take down the blinds.
Get some decent player reads and know who will call down light & who won't (ie. some bigstacks won't bother to call your shoves while others think it's their job to do so,.. try to discern between the two).

A common mistake by many satellite players is getting involved in way too many hands at mid-levels. It's just not necessary. If you have a decent stack, chips won aren't nearly as valuable to you in comparison to 'chips lost' (ie. let's say you're sitting with 5,000 chips, about avg., winning a 2,000 chip pot is of far less benefit compared to losing that 2,000 chip pot < sounds obvious BUT so many players will spew off a good chunk of their stack, playing a satellite as if it were a cash table.

1)survive
2)survive
3)survive

I's all about getting the ticket even if you have to fold AA

Only play Real potential hands until blinds go up a few levels. Then Be a little mpre aggressive at the right times.

satellite tournaments aresomething you have to watch a few before you play, you need to understand how they play and the best stratigy for each one. The BLT superturbos I find you need to enter right before late reg ends, double or tripple up, and do not play anymore hands. Some people stall the clocks each and every hand.

Large Feild Sats like for the double duce is about doubling or trippling up and maintaining or letting your chips run down by the blinds.

I look for ones with the best odds, like the $1.80 Sat to the DD Sat this is where the top 3 win entry into the $5.5 Sat a 33% chance to get 200% ROI.

Most non turbo Sat you need to just need to double or tripple up and maintain or let you chips be blinded out. Watch them played and see what chips are needed to survive, I find most are not that bad as long as you get a prise for every 7 or less players this is about a 14% chance of winning the entry. Less is always better! if you are at 1 in 9 or more odds of getting an entry you are better playing in a normal tournment.

I personally don't think satellites are worth peoples money. If you aren't good enough to breeze through a satellite and easily put up the buy-in you should not be playing in it and chances are your not going to be good enough to win the bigger tourney. It's just takin' a shot at the big bucks to me. An average player is not gonna profit too much.

i like to play the satellites and unregister and use the money in more sattelites or smaller tourneys. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm probably not good enough to be playing in the tourneys anyways. I think Steves22 has a good point.

A lot of people use the money won in sats to play other tournaments than the target tournament.

In regards to the question. It's all about survival.

I agree play tight and try to double or triple up then near the bubble play tight aggresive. the main goal is to survive, if you have a nice chip lead do not try to get involved in hands since you can loose a bunch of your chips and get knocked out of contention.