The poker club I play in hosts a tournament every Tuesday with some of the rake going to an end of the year satellite for the wsop main. You get points every week for finishing in the money 1000 points to be exact. The final game consists of everyone with 7000 or more points which equate to chips in that final game. About 50 people qualified this year an they will be split in half over a day 1a on Friday and 1b on Saturday with the final table joining up on Sunday. I have 32000 in chips which is good for about 5th starting stack to start the tourney. Blinds start at 25-50 and are 1 hour long. There’s a lot of play in this tournament but im wondering what the optimal strategy would be. It might be my only shot to play in a 10,000 dollar buyin so it’s a big deal to me. Any insight or tips would be greatly appreciated.

What is the range of the starting stacks? What is the average and what is the mean? I've been playing tournaments like this for a number of years and I've come ohhh soooo close with 2nds & 3rds etc. Since you should know most of the people you play against, you can usually map out who you can attack early for their stacks and who you want to avoid early. With that many BB to start, you can afford to play some suited connectors and low pairs cheaply from late position when you know you won't get raised lightly. The only place worth finishing in these is 1st so don't be afraid to take some risks to get there.