tricky mtt question

I seem to get into trouble in mtts when I have around 15-20 BBs,
(middle stage of the game)
and I am dealt something like AQ suited in early to middle position.

I tend to raise 3x the BB,
and if called by someone in later position I tend to make a continuation bet of 3-5X the BB,
then if I am faced with a re-raise I'll tend to throw it away if I have completely missed the flop. But then I am left short-stacked.

Should I avoid playing a hand like AQ suited from EP when I only have 15-20 BBs.

ok first off generally in mtts when you only have 15-20 BBs I think 3 BBs is on the high side preflop. Since everyone's short with respect to you you can get away with just raising to like 2.5x.

Anyway, typically AQ from EP in a FR game be it a tourney or cash game, is a fold. But the biggest thing on whether to cbet or not is the opponent and the flop texture. If it's a flop that your opponent likely hit or your opponent just doesn't like folding you can just check/fold when you miss.

One thing you may want to consider is whether you are being predictable with your post flop betting. It took me awhile to realize it was happening to me, but I had people using their positional advantage to outplay me after the flop. Make sure you are not making predictable plays like making a similar continuation bet every time you miss and/or checking betting strong when you hit. In the later stages of tourneys you will be running into players who are paying close attention to your play.

I get this a lot, and the answer is "it depends". How badly did you miss?

If you are MP +1 or +2, and get flat called by the button, and miss the flop, does it make sense to fire the first bullet? Not really. If the button checks behind, I would continue to try to keep to pot small (check or check/call less than 1/3 the pot), or toss it and wait for a better hand.

3x BB out of 15-20 isn't bad to toss away. Its when you try to semi-bluff with two overs and firing c-bets that gets expensive.

zach:
thanks for the input.
i'll work on varying my bet to 2.5xBB in this circumstance.
i've worried before that my 2.5x bets didnt receive as
much respect as a 3x BB bet, but I shouldn't worry about that.
(works to my advantage if i have a big hand right?).
btw. what does FR game mean?
fatbasset:
you're quite right. I think this is one of the first pots
I had raised in quite a while.
-likely he had me beat.
arhael:
completely missed.
flop something like K 8 5 rainbow.
good advice, keep my c-bets in position you're basically
saying right? c-bet a limper/SB/BB who calls my raise,
or a weak-player in later position than myself
(maybe even check to see what a weak player does first, so
I save chips if he did hit the flop).
check/fold, against an aggressive opponent,
or check/re-raise even if I'm brave and confident he has
nothing.
Thanks you three, most i've learned in a thread here before.

FR = Full Ring ( 9-10 players )

roger.

This actually has been happening to me lately as well. Great post and great replies. Has also helped me quite a bit. Thanks everyone!

Best of luck, T.

I like to fold this hand from early to mid pos. Heck I tend to fold this hand sometimes in late position. This hand always looks nice, but when I play it strong preflop it always kills me. Have you ever noticed how many times this hand has knocked people out on a WPT final table?

But mix up your play, use the c-bet, check-raise, check-call, if you think your opponent is just using position on you.