$180 MTT 145 entries. Down to 7 final table. I have about 2x average stack and am chip leader, but I'm only 35bb deep. Most everybody else is about 10-15bb. BB is higher than starting stack at this point.

Significant pay jumps at 2. Rest are slow increments.

Is the strategy here to play super tight and let them knock each other out, or just apply small pressure frequently in late position?

I'm the leader but will basically swap places with every other player if I double them up.

I wound up running into chainsaws so not trying to be results oriented just I don't play a ton of tournaments and just not sure.


Hand 1: 15bb limps UTG, CO jams 10bb, Im BTN with AJo and over jam. UTG snap calls.

Hand 2: I'm now about 25bb after stealing blinds. MP jams 10bb. I rejam A8s from CO.

I don't think we want to be playing super tight, but probably not applying as much pressure as if there were standard pay jumps. We're still the chip leader and should be driving the action but I wouldn't be doing solver 3bets with A8o vs 17 bb stacks.

Hand 1 I think is quite a tough spot. Initially I thought easy get in, but I'm not sure a live player is over jamming like KJo in the cutoff here. I do think in these spots if it's marginal we can pass if we have an edge, but I don't think rejamming is bad.

Hand 2 is just too loose. Probably ATs+ AJo+.

It's funny you say KJ. CO had KJ. UTG had AA.

Ya unlucky - obv a reasonable holding for UTG but hard to range him on just that.

The key to finishing strong here is to call off vs all-ins very tight but to steal very wide. You don't want to be the one calling off, you want to be the one shoving or raise-folding. Under ICM, the value of lost chips is significantly higher than the value of gained chips, especially your last chip, which lets you pressure the tournament life and ladder opportunity of the other players.

I think these are both folds. At 15bb effective stacks as the chip leader with the ladder pressure on every other player, you can shove something like any pair, any broadway, any suited ace/strong offsuit ace, and any strong suited connector from any seat and be printing, not to mention all the raise/folds you can sneak through with complete garbage holdings. These stack-offs are probably close to the break-even point chip EV but are losing in $EV.

Bolding this for emphasis.

And agreed, both of these hands are folds. You can steal wide with decent blocker hands, and even 3-bet light with good blockers against villains you think will raise/fold, and even open shove in the way the above post recommends, but you should not be calling all-ins in marginal spots for big chunks of your stack. That's one of the worst things you can do at a final table.

Absent any critical reads I’m folding in both spots. Open raise light from late position, I will often increase size from 2x to 2.4x in this spot to disincentivize people from coming along. Just want to steal blinds and only get involved when I way ahead. Not calling many shoves.