FTOPS IV and Sunday Million!

I am playing in both of these tournaments this weekend.

My big plans for FTOPS have not worked out so far, but I'm hoping to stop donking out in the middle stages and going deep in the last and largest tournament.

I also noticed that Poker Stars is having a deposit bonus and a cool promotion where they are ADDING 250K to the Sunday Million. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2 million prize pool for this one, which is the largest online tournament I've seen in the past few months. I'm definately playing in this one, having qualified earlier in the week.

I'm adapting a new strategy for these tournaments, which is basically as follows:

Early Stage (Start - 1st Break):
The blinds are very small here so I like to play lots of flops in position. I usually limp with everything aside from AA, KK, or QQ. I try to trap my opponents when I am strong, and bluff them out when I think they will fold. If I'm lucky I'll grab a few lucky hands like a sneaky two pair, straight, flush, or set. I try not to get all-in at this stage without the nuts or near nuts. I won't move all-in preflop with KK or call an allin with AK - I don't see value in taking chances yet. I usually have 3000-6000 chips by the end of this stage.

Middle Stage 1 (1st Break - 2nd Break):
The blinds are getting larger here, but there are no antes yet, and its really not worth it to steal without some sort of hand or particularly tight/weak players in the blinds. I like to play very tight during this stage. Players are starting to feel pressure from the blinds, and there is no longer a huge amount of breathing room in terms of fancy plays and cheap bluffing opportunities. I stick to playing premium hands (AA-QQ, AK-AJ) with a raise and hands with a lot of potential (22-JJ, 65s-KQs, 97s-KJs, Axs) in position with a limp/call. I usually stay about even during this stage, gaining or losing a small quantity of chips, unless I get hit with the deck with lots of great cards.

Middle Stage 2 (2nd Break - 3rd Break):
The antes kick in during this period and the blinds start to become quite significant. Its usually during this stage that the bubble begins to become significant. Its often burst during this stage or early in the next stage so its important to steal a lot of blinds and antes to have a chance at winning. A steal here adds a significant amount of chips to an average player's stack, often one-tenth or more. Simply stealing ten pots during this stage, while hopefully also getting a few hands here will help to build up for the late stages. I think resteals with medium pairs and big aces become a very useful tactic during this stage. Targeting tight players with steals and loose players with resteals can be a great way to chip up without seeing flops. This stage requires a bit of luck, but if you get through it with an average stack, your chances at a signifcant cash are quite good.

Late Stage (3rd Break - Final Table):
I usually play this stage pretty aggressively, but I tend to not make plays without some sort of hand. I'll raise blinds if I can get away with it, but I'm often forced to move allin preflop due to the HUGE blinds. It has been a long time since I have gotten through this point in a large field tournament. It seems like this is where "getting lucky" comes into play. You will have to win coin flips and pair vs pair confrontations here. If those don't go in your favor, there isn't much you can do.

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As usual I'll continue to update this post with my results as I go. Cheers. :D