Best Strategy for stars 180man sngs with early chip lead

[kosmicd21]

hey, i'm about 40 minutes into my second or so 180 man sng and am top 3 in chips, i've heard much said about these and their players, so with this early chip cushion is the optimal strategy to be TAG and only play premium hands and see flops with decent hands, or should I be more LAG and see a lot of flops (i've heard that players in these are really bad, so i'm more drawn to the first option but would love to hear from those with successful experience in these)

[Slap My Jack]

I don't like unnecessarily tightening up, people catch up quick enough.

[Max Weinberg]

Bully them mercilessly.

[Beachman42]

Position + Reads + Image = good play. Oh, and defend your blinds aggressively. Don't let a small villian continuously pick on you thinking you have gone uber-tight.

[BigPoppa]

[ QUOTE ]
Bully them mercilessly.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Foucault]

If it is still early, then you should be neither bullying nor defending. You should be trying to limp in often with speculative hands though, and even calling raises when the price is right, because you will get paid off when you hit. Don't try to push anyone around, just take your draws when you have the odds and get paid when you hit. Continue to play your big hands aggressively, but don't try to force any pots or push anyone off a hand. The time to do that will be in about two hours. Right now, just use your cushion to see a lot of flops and try to keep accumulating.

[MikeSmith]

blow off your stack with a failed bluff like most do.

you should only change your game when the blinds start to take their toll, most people feel the need to stay ahead and most of the time they screw up big time, just play your game dude.

[bestcellar]

let's put it this way - I was 3rd in chips with about 28 left yesterday and I finished in 13th. Play like no lead is ever safe, because it's true.

[1Winston]

It has been my experience that just playing your normal game is still best. Even with a big stack, people in these things are very willing to pay off your big hands. I wouldn't worry about changing gears too much until you start to approach the bubble. TAG without position and LAG with position.

[Max Weinberg]

[ QUOTE ]
If it is still early, then you should be neither bullying nor defending. You should be trying to limp in often with speculative hands though, and even calling raises when the price is right, because you will get paid off when you hit. Don't try to push anyone around, just take your draws when you have the odds and get paid when you hit. Continue to play your big hands aggressively, but don't try to force any pots or push anyone off a hand. The time to do that will be in about two hours. Right now, just use your cushion to see a lot of flops and try to keep accumulating.

[/ QUOTE ]
Maybe we're playing these 180 SNGs at different times of the day, but in two hours this thing is practically going to be over. He's ~40 minutes in, and I'm guessing the blinds are going to 50/100 in a few minutes. It's a perfect time for some measured, spot-picking bullying.

It's also early enough that someone can cut away from a bet without much harm to their stack and be thinking "I still have a lot of time left to wait for a real hand against this guy." I'm not saying to just all-in bluff everybody, but I think it's a perfect time to start knocking some people around and put the fear of God into them that their tournament might be at stake if they mess with you.

Having people think "I still have a lot of time left to wait for a hand," is almost as good as "I'm on the bubble and don't want to bust." Both succeed in having people fold marginal hands when the big stack comes trampling over the table.