[BigAlK]

[ QUOTE ]
I think you have missunderstood my point.

Of course a carpenter would be better off with hammer, saw, and screwdriver than just a hammer. My point is that is that you have to weigh the risks of beeing reduced to just a hammer vs the risks of not even having that.

I.e. it's not that there is not value in trying to stay in the green zone but that it has to be weigthed against the risk of busting out early (or beeing reduced to a very small stack).

Plus as someone pointed out, being in the green zone doesn't do you much good toolwise if due to tournament speed everyone else is in the red zone. (Obviously it is still better in $EV because you have more chips.) To continue the carpenter comparison neither a saw nor a screwdriver is much use if the job is all hammering nails.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair enough. I think it depends on your goal for a tournament. If it is to squeak into the money then getting to the point where you're in the money with a red zone stack is good enough and if you get lucky you can go high. If your goal is to win then a more aggressive approach might be better. You'll either bust out of the money or have a higher chance of reaching the end game with a bigger stack. If you're in the green zone and everyone else is in the red zone then you'll need to be selective as to when to call when your opponents push, but be better equipped to survive those times you lose. Every confrontation won't be one that determines your survival like it will for everyone else. Granted, your full tool set won't be of use at that point, but you'll still be in much better shape to go deep in the money.