So, I have been trying to play without depositing at Carbon and have played in quite a few of those FunStep things.

I have made it down to the final 2 in FS3 maybe 4-5 times but only won one.
Yes, it is a small sample size, but if you were to watch the final sessions, I seem to be on a mission to give my chips to the other player.

So here is what I have been doing and please feel free to laugh and criticize.

Stage Zero (three people left)
I fold a lot on the button to observe the tendencies of the two other people left, particularly the one most likely to be in F2 with me.

Stage One (if I start ahead by 5-10 BBs):
When it starts, for about 10 hands, I limp in from the button a lot, raising on the button pre only if I have a pair, A or K. I raise only if I hit the flop. I will call down or raise players that have been raising post-flop with less two pair or folding to raises. I lose some amount of chips this stage.

Stage Two
I start raising from the button about 50% of the time. If I get enough hands in the top half of hands, I will raise those. Otherwise ATC if I need to do it to bring the percentage up. I play anything middle pair and above pretty hard unless played back at me harder. The amount I call down or raise depends on cards and how the person behaved in Stage One.
I pick up a ton of chips here, it seems.

Stage Three
Then... something happens and I find myself folding almost every hand till I have very few chips and only survive through a double up.

The one time I did win, it seemed like the Stage Three roles were reversed. The guy just kept giving me chips every time I raised. I couldn't understand it.

Can anyone direct me to some resources learning heads up and/or lay out some beginner tips?
I guess my big question is, after you are done laughing, can someone tell me what the mysterious thing is that is happening at what I am calling Stage Three?

Sincerely,
Confused Fish