Don't make the mistake of thinking a tournament with alot of entrants is a "crapshoot." With the right blind structure, you should feel comfortable with any number of entrants ... besides ... the payouts are that much better!
I used to sigh when I noticed my "recently-underway" tournament was over 1500 players. It just seemed like too many people to get through. Don't think of it that way. There are only nine players at your table, and that's all you have to worry about. It's good to keep an eye on the chipleaders, but don't force yourself to get there, or you'll self destruct. Patience is huge.
Instead of focusing on how average your stack is, or how much the chipleader has, think about how you can make money at the table. Is there a big stack who's a little TOO aggro? Can you take advantage of that if/when you get a good hand? How about the smaller stacks? Are they weak and scard of busting out? Steal their blinds. (Don't be an asshole trying to steal a $30 big blind. Wait until it's worth it.)
The reason I don't play MTTs on Party (not that I play any poker anymore) is because their lower buy-in tournaments start you off w/ 800 chips and a
quickly increasing blind structure. THAT is a crapshoot. Crapshoots are shitty structures. They are all-in gamble fests by the 4-5th round. Save your money.
Stars has a good, all-around structure, but I think the jump from 100/200/25 to 200/400/25 is a little steep, imo. I remember liking Full Tilt tournaments, as well as Ultimate Bet (which probably has the best of all).
GL with the massive fields.
