Exit Hands and blinding out

[ExcitableBoy]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us The above is my exit hand from last night's ipoker $10 $5K guarantee. I finished 51st for just over $20, somewhere around 630 runners I think. First prize was over $1K. What I want to discuss is how and when you decide to get your money in in these situations. In this tournament there was a very flat payout structure until near the FT (pretty normal). 81 places paid and it wasn't until you got to 25 that the payout reached $50. My philosophy in this sort of position where I am fairly short stacked (M was 5.5) and a long way from serious money is to try to pick good spots to steal. I hadn't played a hand for two rounds of the button and the SB's flat call looked like suited connectors or a small Ace, both of which I felt he would fold to a shove from a tight player. He didn't in this case, but I'm not gonna cry too much. Does anyone think I should have checked preflop and then shoved instead? I noticed that BurnleyJoe was out not long after me, presumably doing something similar. At the same time I have seen players on here playing down to a couple of big blinds in tourneys and dodging bullets for ages. To my mind you may ladder up a bit by doing this but you have very little chance of making a big score, but I'd be interested in hearing views. Would anyone like to share their thoughts on the strategies they adopt?

[south_eastern_ram]

Re: Exit Hands and blinding out You were right to shove, anything else would have been bad. He should have just shoved in the first place, and you rightly should have called so the money was probably going in any how. Look up a push/fold graph, it will transform your game and open your eyes to spots you should be taking. When I first worked on it, I didnt realise how wide people were shoving from, for example, the button or sb, you should almost be shoving any two from these positions with 10 bigs.