[LearnedfromTV]

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I think it comes down to whether or not you know how to play the big stack online effectively on a consistant type basis. It will always come down to being lucky and not risking chips when you don't have to but some have the ability to play those stacks and some don't. Neither method is necessarily better over the other but used correctly both can work. Personally I have never been able to play a large stack aggressivly but have been working on it recently. I've taken a small hit in my bankroll because I have not been cashing as much but I seem to be a coinflip or bad beat away from a big lead and advantage late in these tournaments. I think it can be smart to play how you described you played to finish 27th, but unless you get REALLY lucky, I doubt you'll ever finish higher than that unless you pick your spots PERFECT and get a lil lucky on your way up.

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Learning to play with a big stack is a great reason to not jump immediately out of your comfort zone when you get one. A big stack plus a few well placed steals, really semi-bluffs, plus maybe showing AQo when your raise doesn't get called keeps your image as big & tight. Mo matter what, if you have 10% of the chips at the bubble, someone else will have you 9:1 if you get HU without improving. Play your game and flip a kind coin!

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This is a bit of a hijack, but I liked the bolded line.

The first key when playing a big stack is to understand that people want to believe you when you raise. Unless you are a really good big stack player who has observed specific circumstances at your table to allow you to get away with being a maniac, good big stack play is not stealing every blind. Raise more often than you should, more often than people will give you credit for having a hand, but take enough hands off so that any particular time you raise you are reasonably likely have a hand that can call a push. The same opponents who tend to disbelieve maniac big stacks and decide to take a stand are perfectly willing to trust you while you steal them blind as long as you do it in moderation.