All being well, after a few levels of play the bad players will have either been eliminated or have taken out better players and ended up with a sizeable chip stack. Either scenario is good for you. And the latter is ideal as the big stacks are now the fish that will end up paying you off in the long run. Because by now you should have been identified as a tight player who only commits chips when holding a premium hand – a fair reflection of your game so far. And if you’ve been lucky enough to have hit a few hands and been paid off there’s no reason to change your style of play at this point. If, on the other hand, your chip stack is below average, it’s time to scrap the passive play, change gears and employ some aggression.

Naturally, you need to control this. Turn it on when you’re close to the button and in position to attack the blinds, as they should now be worth stealing. Before too long you should accumulate enough chips to get ahead of the average stack size and back into the comfort zone.

Never forget, though, the absolute basics of tournament poker should remain at the heart of your play. Play big hands as well as poor ones and be aware of the power of your chips in relation to both the average chip stack and the size of the blinds.