Good post. Good question. I haven't +Repped you in a while, so here ya go, champ.
I know what my basic strategy is going to be for the WSOP, but the most important determining factor is going to be how my table is playing. If they can be bullied, I'll bully. If they are a bunch of psychos, I'll sit back and set some traps.
What I am definitely going to do is avoid big pots... at least for the first day. I'll try to win a bunch of small pots and slowly build my stack, but I'm not going to be doing anything silly. I HOPE that I don't have to say "all in" even once on Day 1. If it comes to that, no worries, but I'm hoping to not find myself in that situation... at least not until late in the day.
You mention players playing too tight, but don't confuse that with too passive. You can play a tight aggressive style with much success in tourneys - I know I can, anyway. I find that style most comfortable, but I like to change gears frequently and play the super-loose aggressive style for a while here and there too. That's not my natural style, and I don't think I could re-reraise Phil Ivey with 8 high.... but there is a time and a place for it. When you KNOW your opponent is weak (which I couldn't know about Ivey), it's ok to play your stack and not your cards. In fact, it's necessary.
To answer your other question about how I'll play with a "pro" ay my table... let me let you in on a little secret. The "pros" aren't any better than the best online players that I play with all the time. Certainly many of them are - don't get me wrong, but it's not like they are gods or something. They are typically just solid poker players. Some are better than others, but I don't plan on changing my strategy one bit against unknown Player X or Daniel Negreanu. Just because someone has a face you recognize doesn't mean a thing.... It's how he plays and your read on him that matters the most.
Oh, and lastly - about the cash game vs. tourney difference, yes, it's huge... really huge. Fortunately for me (depending how you look at it), with NL HE, I feel more comfortable in a tourney setting that I do in a big cash game, so that's good for me at the WSOP. (Oddly enough, I'd rather play limit in a cash game than a tourney).
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