to improve your chances of doing well, i think it's important to start with game selection. cash games will play different than sngs, sngs will play different than mtts. going even further, turbo sngs will play different than regular sngs, just like hyper turbo mtts will play differently than pko mtts. i play microstakes mtts, so i'll focus on that.
so, the first step would be to pick the game type you play your best in. personally, i don't like pko mtts that much so i avoid them unless they're really cheap. i prefer to play regular mtt levels over turbos, but still feel more comfortable with turbo mtts than i do hyper turbo mtts.
expanding on the first step, looking at game structure is also important as game selection because not all structures are the same. you want to look at everything like starting stack, starting blinds, blind levels, late registration, the guaranteed prize pool, the payouts, etc. a lot of the time, it might look similar but there could be small changes that could affect your game play.
for example, i'm looking at playing a $2.20 mtt. there is one with a $600 gtd has already started. if i buy-in now, i can start with 20 big blinds. there is also a $1.10 re-buy that's is the near the add-on break. i can buy-in, take the add-on, and start with 20 big blinds. both have same blind levels and blind times. so, which should i play? the buy-in is still the same so, i should play the $600 gtd because of the bigger prize pool, right? well, the $600 gtd mtt still has over 2 hours of late registration and the re-buy's late registration will end after the add-on break. by the time i get pass late registration in the $600 gtd game, i'll be well into the money of the $200 gtd game, and possibly near the final table. i would still have many hours of play in the $600 mtt. also, because of the longer late registration there will be a lot more players i would have to get through, making it harder to run deep and increasing my chances of getting knocked out. in the $200, i only have to get through the remaining players. so, lets say there is only 50 players left i might have to get through and equivalent of 3x that many players in the other game because of late registration and re-entries. and then there is a matter of time. i could finish the $200 mtt in 2-3 hours tops, it might take 2-3x as long to finish the other mtt.
so, even if the mtts look very similar as far as buy-in and structure, they're going to play differently. i would rather play the $200 mtt because it'll be game i think i have the best chance at doing well in it. it's also a lot faster. i don't want to spend 6+ hours getting through an mtt.
after you have picked the right game mode and game you think you'll do your best in. then it's about how you should play against your opponents. since i only play microstakes mtts, then it's a pretty simple strategy of making less mistakes than my opponents. i know it sounds vague but, in a nutshell, that's all it comes down to.
so, what exactly is making less mistakes than my opponent? lets look at hand selection as that's the first step when playing. if i play a much tighter range than my opponent and i raise a lot with my big
hands, don't get too committed with my medium hands like suited connectors and mid pairs, and fold all my other junk hands, then i'm making less mistakes than my opponent that plays a much wider range. this gives me the advantage of having the better hand more often (not always), winning pots more often, and losing less chips when i'm behind and have to fold. some people might look at is as 'scared' poker if i don't chase my draws, but if i think i'm behind or don't think i'm getting the right price/paid off, then i'll make the decision to fold to try and find a better spot to play. on top of that, if i make sure to maximize my value for my big hands when i hit, don't chance my draws unless i'm getting the proper price to do so, and i fold when i'm behind, that'll just increase my chances of doing well.
it's not going to be about winning every pot or never losing any chips. you're always to going to lose chips sometimes, but it's more about managing your losses and maximizing your value. i might have a 50 bb stack, but because i had to fold some hands, maybe i raised some and had to fold on a later street, etc, it might drop down to 35 bbs. it sucks to lose some bbs and have a smaller stack, but i still have a healthy stack and because i minimized my risk, when i get a big hand and double up, i'll have 70 bbs. but what if i was a bit too reckless and played too many hands, chased too much and didn't hit and now i only have 12 big blind? then i double up to only 24 big blinds. so, by thinking ahead, managing my stack, minimizing losses, not taking unnecessary chip losses by playing bad hands, i'm giving myself the best chance of doing well.
i play very tight aggressive. so, i might be folding 90% of my hands dealt. of the 10% i do play, maybe i 5% of that i win small pots, take down blinds, win pots uncontested, etc to maintain a small stack. the other 5% of the time, i double up or better and win huge pots to put me in prime position to make the final table. it could be a bit boring style of play, but it works for me. i save my chips as much as i can to maximize my return for my big hands. so, i might win only 5 big pots in an mtt, but if that gets me to the final table, then it works.
as far as maximizing your value, i think this is going to be hard sometimes because you'll to be willing to put your mtt life at risk sometimes. a big example of this is playing aa. you might have to get it in with aa and have to accept that it'll lose some of the time. it sucks when you get it in with 50 bbs vs a10 or qj and you lose, but a loss doesn't mean it's a mistake. that's the key point to remember. your decision determines what is right or wrong, not the results. getting your chips in preflop with aa vs a weaker hand is a correct decision, the loss is just a potential result and luckily, it only happens 1/5 times.