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Suppose there are only two tables left, with five players at each table. If one more player goes broke, the tables are combined. The tournament pays nine places, At this point all of the short stacks are desperately trying to survive.
The difference between tenth place and ninth place is usually pretty significant (when the last table starts with nine players), even when 10th place pays a nominal amount. With the combination of the two tables imminent, these short stacks will tend to throw away all but their very best hands rather than risk the booby prize (coming in 10th). Because of that, the chip leader at both tables is in a wonderful position, especially in games with blinds. When no one has yet opened, he can raise with an awful lot of hands since his chances of stealing the pot are so high (the player with the second largest stack at each table is in a similar positoin if the largest stack has already folded, as long as that second largest stack is also pretty big).
It is not uncommon for the largest stack at each of the two five handed tables to significanly increse his chip position during this time, even without ever playing a hand to the river. He merely steals the blinds hand after hand.
In addition, because of this syndrom, the chip leader at each table has an opportunity to make a very unusual strategy adjustment. Suppose he is on the button with QQ and the player with the shortest stack raises, almost all-in. The two queens should probably be folded. Do you see why? The gain from playing this hand, perhaps a small bet in expected value, is not worth the fact that if you do win the pot, the tables are combined, and you can no longer run over the game.
This of course is a rather unique situation to be in, so knowing it will not help your long term tournament results very much. I bring it up more to show how the nature of tournaments is such that they can occasoinally indicate a strategy far different from what you are used to.
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