Dancing with the one who brung you

It's much easier to make the money in a tournament than to go deep in one. However, to make a profit on tournaments in the long term, it's essential to go deep every now and then. I've debated whether I should change my playing style once I've made the money in a tournament (if I make the money, that is), to maximize my chances of going deep. There are arguments for both sides. I've decided I prefer not to change my playing style except in the following two scenarios:

1. the money bubble is about to burst

2. it's heads up play

When the money bubble is about to burst, it pays to play extremely tightly. Unless you get a premium hand, you should be a folding machine. When it's heads up play, you're essentially forced to play much more loosely; you should be paying to see the flop almost all the time. If neither scenario in in effect, it pays to play the way that got you to where you are in the first place. In other words, you should be dancing with the one who brung you :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     315   81    38   124000
MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     229   63    31   105000
MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     449  117    36   158000

delta: $237,000
2024 balance: $3,844,000
2024 blue distance: $0
balance: $16,653,303
MTT NLHE ITM pct: 41.73 (1267 of 3036)