The lower your edge in the tournament, the more comfortable you should be taking high-variance spots – your best shot at winning a tournament where most of the field is better than you is to win lots of flips and build a big stack that negates your disadvantage.

With that in mind, don’t play small-ball poker. 3-bet a lot, 3-bet quite big, don’t defend your big blind very wide, and play aggressively postflop. Better players will be looking to play more pots against you if they feel like they have an edge on you, so your aggression will turn their desire to exploit you into a lot of difficult spots for them.

The most important thing is to overcome your fear of playing a higher buyin. It’s just another tournament, and if you approach it with a conservative mentality then not only will you probably end up making a bunch of mistakes, but you’re also choosing a playing style that plays right into your opponents’ hands. Fear is the biggest obstacle for many players.