[Nichomacheo]

Say you have the option of choosing between the following two strategies:

(Deep we'll say is 50bb+)

1. Play very tight/aggressive while the stacks are deep to create a tight image. As the stacks become more shallow (level 2+), loosen up and take advantage of your image. You can steal the blinds more, and will be able to take down the large postflop pots more often (which are the most important).

2. Play very loose/aggressive while the stacks are deep because you can afford to splash around and see flops in position. Create a fairly loose image, and when the stacks become more shallow, use this image to get villain to get a lot of chips in with a weak hand. Here, you know your image, and won't over commit yourself with marginal hands.

What does your strategy more closely resemble? Which type of opponent would you rather play against? Which do more successful players use? Without considering your opponent's style, what other big picture strategies exist?

I definitely play strategy #2, but I'm not so sure its better than strategy #1.

Thoughts?