MTT Strategy

This is a layout of the basic strategy I’ve been using in multi-table tournaments and I will point out the adjustments I’ve made recently which have so far yielded much better results. The adjustments are in bold.
For this example I will use a field of 2,000. You can figure the percentages of folks left in and apply it to different sized fields.
1) The beginning of the tournament: 2,000 players down to 1,000
I’m looking to see flops cheap and hit a monster. I’m willing to gambool a little here and I never fear getting knocked out at this point. I would much rather finish here than three hours in on the bubble. I’ll take note of what cards I show to determine what type of table image I am representing.
a) If I’ve shown a few premium hands early I’ll use this to my advantage and go ahead and start stealing blinds. I'm looking for good position and minimal pressure from my opponents. If I am on the button I look for semi-premium cards. One or two spots off the button I'll play almost anything. If no one has raised ahead of me I will raise it up 3-5 times the big blind. If they let it go, great. If they call, I'm looking for a non-threataning board and I will take one more shot at picking it up. Don't hesitate to let these hands go if someone plays back at you.
b) If I've shown some loose play early I'll use this to my advantage also. There is nothing more dangerous than the loose guy with cards....so I'll try to appear to stay loose but I start looking for the chance to play the loose cannon and double up with a premium hand.
I like to switch gears several times and bet odd amounts. This is the time of the tourney you can really cut loose and have some fun with your bets and hands.

2) The Big Gun section of the tourney: 1,000 down to 300
This is the part of the tourney where we see how much heart we have. I typically sit back for a few rounds here and just try to find a few big starting hands where I can come out gunning and try to pick up big stacks of chips. People have been playing for a while and they usually don't want to get all their chips in without the nuts...they usually won't have the nuts.(this takes some experience to aquire a feel for avoiding trouble) The biggest key is to have picked up lots of chips early and be able to afford to lose one out of three coin flips.

3) Crunch time (nearing the money): 300 down to the money (usually 140-220)
I determine where I stand at this point: assessment time
Am I a) short to medium stack or b) a big stack
a) short to medium stack: If I fall in this category I go ahead and play the part. I tighten up and try to get to the money. If I get a chance to double and become a bigger stack, I don't fear getting knocked out here. I'm not playing a 22 buck tourney to win 35 bucks.
b) a big stack: Attack the medium stacks blinds. Try not to fight the other big stacks unless you have the nuts.

4) In the money: 140-220 down to final 3 tables.
I like to open up my game here and take some shots at continuing to pick up chips. If you hit your flop and you want a caller, try to bet a little weaker(i call this the nuisance bet) then come over the top with a strong reraise. Most folks are staying super tight right now and just trying to move up to the next money level. You can buy a lot of pots here pre-flop and post-flop.

5) Final three tables: 30 down to 10
There is usually some pretty good competition now so you can put some moves on people. Try to put yourself in your opponents head after the flop. Think about what range of hands he would put you on and then use that to your advantage(if that doesn't make sense to you then you should just play solid here)

6) Final Table: 10 down to 1
I can't write this part yet because it would just be guesswork.... I've made it to 4 or 5 final tables in multi's but I am far from mastering it. I can tell you this...people will go out quicker than you think so moving from making 500 bucks to 2,000 bucks can happen in 2 or 3 hands.

Please keep in mind that these are all generalities and every individual tournament is different. These are not rules but just some general guidelines.
Best of luck to everyone and I hope this helped..........surf