OK, it's official. 8,773 people put in their $10k making a total prize pook of $87,730,000 for the main event. First place is forcasted to get about $11.5M for the win. So it makes me wonder, how does one go about winning a 9,000 person tournament? I was hoping that I could get some opinions here.
In Brunson's new book (coming out soon): [i:5467d289fd]New Hold Em'[/i:5467d289fd] he notes that most players have a fundamental grasp of hold em' and that a correction must now occur. What was once a generally simple tournament strategy of wait for the donkey's to bust out, and then use their chips to play big stack poker. Now it's more about maximizing the smaller edges to take advantage of situations that may be just slightly in your favor. Basically is the build or bust theory early in the tournament, which is actually backwards from what it used to be. Matasow even says that "GEtting involved in a pot before the ante begins is not a wise move. This is why Hellmuth always showed up late, part showboat, and partly because if you arn't there you can't be busted in 3 hours.
So what I am wondering is your personal opinions on the matter. I tend to find myself as a tight player, who often is not agressive enough, or is agressive at the wrong time. I seem to excell a little more when the blinds are against me and we are shorthanded. I don't know why that is, but it makes more sense to me. But in a game like this where you have plenty of time, I tend to get outplayed after the flop, usually because I don't know what to do with my weak holdings, and often I am concerned that I am second in the running.
So I just want to get your opinions? What would your WSOP strategy be? Would you like to optimise the minimal edges (top pair big kicker), against other players early on in hopes that you can make a big stack bigger? Or would you wait a short while and then kick it up. I know you are supposed to mix up play, but I would think that in a field of 9,000 there is almost no room for passivity.
Thoughts?
