[Gordogg]

Without reading responses here's my two cents.

I used to employ the loose see flops cheaply plan. I thought this was the best way to gain a big stack early when blinds are miniscule. It's not a bad strategy either. But the thing is, if you use this strategy and your hands keep missing the flop, it starts to add up. Or you have 67 sooted, flop top pair and end up losing to a nimrod that can't fold AK. You have tougher decisions to make using this style. I don't think it's worth it to risk that when you could easily wait for a hand and get paid off.

It also depends on the level of talent in the tourney field. I'd play looser against a better field and tighter against a weenie field, because weenies never fold. Of course you don't know the playing ability of all the players in a tourney field, but obviously a $50 MTT will have a higher ratio of sharks than a $10 MTT. At the beginning of a tourney the fish aren't weeded out yet so wait for a hand and get paid. But, if you get a bad run of cards to start, you have to start loosening up to stay comfortably ahead of the blinds.

Edit: After reading the responses, I failed to mention how important tourney structure is. If you are in the WSOP, like some lucky bastard by the name of TP is going to be, with 2hr blind levels and 200xBB you can afford to play liberally for a longer period of time unlike if you are in an online mtt with 15 min. levels gotta make moves earlier etc...