Secrets of the Amateurs

Don't chase because you don't have enough chips to make the chasing worthwhile. Drawing hands on the flop should be dumped unless they are good enough to go all in with, right here, right now. Good enough usually means a draw plus something - a draw plus a pair, a draw plus overcards, a draw plus another draw. Calling the flop chasing a draw isn't worth it because you don't have the implied odds, that is you don't have enough chips to win a big enough pot when you hit. Of course if someone only wants to charge you 25 for another card then fine, but use your head. Chasing with second pair / top pair weak kicker is also not recommended, although you shouldn't be playing hands that can make top pair weak kicker at all in the early stages.

Don't bluff because people will call you. Simple as that. Note that I'm not talking about semi-bluffing pre-flop when the blinds are high, that's completely different. I'm talking about bluffing in the early rounds . Again, if you're playing the right hands, you should almost always have something that's at least worth showing down if everyone checks (a good Ace or a pair in your hand)

Don't make big laydowns because people will bet all sorts of strange hands. If you have an overpair or top pair good kicker, you're locked in. The penalty for being outdrawn is much smaller in an STS than it is in a regular tournament. When they say Aces either win a small pot or lose a big one, that just doesn't apply here, because there aren't enough chips to make a big pot. Someone makes two pair on you - ohdearhowsadnevermind, put yourself on the list for the next one.

And don't give up because you should never give up. If you play 50 $100 STSs and in just one of those you hang on to that last chip and save it for the right moment and not the next hand because you're steaming, and go on to win, that's an extra $1000 over 50 trials = an extra $20 per STS. Once out of 50 = an extra $20 every time, remember that.