Don’t Stress about Leading
Being the big stack is always fun, but as with most things in life, timing is the key to making the most of it. In the instance of having the big stack at a poker table, it’s almost always better to have the big stack later in the game than it is to have it when you’re just starting out. Obviously you want to have it at the very end of the game, but really, the later you have the big stack at a room like Everest, the better off you are. I mean, big stacks don’t just settle in-you need to protect them from blinds and bad beats, you’ve got to keep feeding them chips, and you’ve pretty much got to babysit them throughout the duration of the tournament.
It’s funny-of course you want to have the big stack, but you want to have it for the shortest amount of time possible. My ideal game would have me riding a close second of third throughout a tournament and let everyone else chp away at the chip leader, then I’d ride a few last-minute monster hands to the top at the end of the game. Don’t actively avoid having the big blind at any given point in a tournament; you’d have to be a fool to turn down money in a poker online game, but don’t go making any risky moves to get it early on either.
