Chip Leader early on at a MTT

yonosemanana

yonosemanana

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So you are in a tournament , and you have a massive stack against everyone else in the table.

Do you play every hand?

or do you sit on it and continue playing strong hands only?
 
micalupagoo

micalupagoo

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you can open your range,
but playing every hand you will reraised and called lighter
why give away your chips?
 
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Everyone plays differently in this situation I notice. Some people with the big stack will get involved in loads of pots and try to bully the shorter stacks, and then other people will tighten up their game and wait for premium holdings as they are in no hurry leading with a big stack.

If it's at the start of a tournament i'd most definitely tighten up my game and wait for the better holdings, where as at a final table with a big stack or on the bubble, i'd try and bully the shorter stacks to give me their blinds as they're in fear of being knocked out most of the time.
 
2Pacavelli

2Pacavelli

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i like play to hit a set with pocket pairs(set value), and suited connectors, to win big pots, and wait the antes starting to be more agressive.
 
UhhWee

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no you dont play every hand but you can make more pressure on your opponents! Thats the important thing!
 
romych007

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You can play more hands , and put pressure on their opponents are , and enter only major banks with good hands , but do not overdo it , as players will try to play with very good hands
 
rock0001

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if you have a big stack you can loosen up your game a lot more since you have lots of chips to take risks however you shouldnt be playing almost every hand especially if you are out of position. its ok to call an all in with a medium pocket pair against shorstacked players because in most cases you will be ahead or it will be a coinflip scenario, and you can also play hands like 87 suited or low pocket pairs even without position, limping and if nobody 3 bets then you can see a cheap flop and if you hit a set, straight of flush you can win lots of chips from the other players. You can also try to semi bluff when you get a good draw like a flush draw or an open straight draw especially on lower boards because in most cases all the players involved in the pot wont have low cards, so semi bluffing is going to be successful most of the times in that spot.
 
yonosemanana

yonosemanana

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No. How about you?

With a massive stack, not literally every hand but I'm thinking opening the range is a must. Just because of the variance in cards. What do you think?
 
Acesinthebig

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Any two suited cards, any connecter's 78 and better, and any 2 paint and any pairs of course!

Open up huge range, raise a lot, and bluff more!
 
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It all depends on tournament structure and the table dynamics+my image which i have created by getting that massive stack early stage!
 
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pain_pain_go_away

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As has already been said, your big stack gives you license to widen your range & play more speculative hands, especially when in position, but don't over do it & be prepared to fold to 3bets from tight players, as people will notice the big stack bullying and will be all too happy to take double ups with strong hands.
 
dexon303

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Like many answers in poker, it depends. If the table you are at is wild and crazy, you can tighten up, back off and let them all duke it out. Don't sit back too long though or the luckiest of the crazies will soon be the chip leader. If the table is playing tight at this point, steal more blinds than normal. But perhaps one good strategy is, don't get into it with anyone that has more than half of your chip count, unless you're pretty sure you're going to win it.
 
jh1spartanfan

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I definitely open up the range a bit. However, if you play to loose you could easily give back your lead. I use having a big stack more to steal blinds and put the pressure on opponents when it seems they have mediocre hands than to play every hand.
 
eidikos

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hi!
you can open your range but dont play every hand
you can also bluff sometimes with position because they respect you more with a big stack
 
westside1950

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Well, I believe there is not one answers to your question, there isn't ''right way''. Everyone plays his own style.
For me it depends of the blinds structure... if the structure is fast I won't be loose as a big stack, beacuse I sure will be called lightly in that case. (happened before :) )

Also, whatever you choose always be aware of your table image when you eventually get in the pot ;)
 
yonosemanana

yonosemanana

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I like that there are plenty "right way" to play. It gives me some ideas on what things to try. What everyone says makes much sense to me.

Open up range, Image, steals blinds, put pressure, if table to loose-play tag, dont double up the second biggest stack- all good advices
 
JuiceClouds

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With a big stack early in an MTT, i like to play suited 1 gappers IP and try to crush souls.
Easy game eh?
 
Gothams Son

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I open it up but I do not play super aggressive. I still want to keep my big chip lead for the time being and not get trapped by someone with a monster hand waiting for me to play aggressively.
 
Poker Orifice

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With a massive stack, not literally every hand but I'm thinking opening the range is a must. Just because of the variance in cards. What do you think?

I think NO. And because it'd have nothing to do with variance.

What I actually think is > you should read some very basic books.
 
Michael Paler

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Lots of players get a massive stack early in an MTT. Few seldom end up winning or even making the final table.

I would concentrate on the why's of that. Things like remembering a short stack is xx number of blinds NOT just someone with fewer chips than you, etc; starting to play too many hands/speculative hands in bad position, the list is long.

One thing to ask yourself is how you got there...was it good solid play, did you luck out against a loon/good player, etc; maybe you want to continue your good game and just not get in over your head. Just don't go into uber NIT mode and end up going out that way.
 
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