Ok this is half vent half looking for improving my game, but late in any online tournament (around 10 left for bubble) where you have an unavoidable situation like <10bb and you have pocket 8's and you're getting blinded out really quickly and you need to shove, is there any way to reconsider and fold a hand like this? I've had countless tournaments where I'm in deep trouble with 7bb left at a 6 handed or 9 handed table and I get 8's and shove and someone cold decks me with 9's or higher. I just can't find a fold when I'm backed into the corner and it's the only move. Any advice appreciated.

If you often find yourself near the bubble with a significantly below average stack, its probably a sign, you are playing a bit to tight and passive. This result in not accumulating enough chips to keep up with the increasing blinds. Already when you have like 20-30BB, you need to get in there and battle. Try to steal the blinds and also resteal.

If for instance you are sitting on BTN with 20BB effective, and CO makes a min-raise, then jam hands like A5s or KJo in his face. You will be surpriced to see, how often people fold, and you chip up without having to show down the best hand. Of course sometimes CO or a player in the blinds will wake up with AK and snap you off, and you will be in poor shape having 75% chance to bust from the tournament. But adopting this "go strong or go home" style of play will lead to more deep runs and a higher winrate in the long run.

There will still be times, where you find yourself near the bubble with an 8BB stack, for instance because you just lost a "flip" to someone, you had covered. And then you need to jam wide, and if you get called and lose, it just is, what it is. The only solution for that is to put in volume and focus on the long term rather than short term results.

Look for any good excuse to shove with under 10bb. The alternative is that you'll get completely blinded out.

If you have 8bb; a pocket pair; and you're first in the pot; this is a great time to shove. You'll often pick up the blinds/antes without a fight and usually be flipping when called. Don't let the times you're up against a higher pair discourage you!

I don't think it is a bad play. Pretty sure it's what most people will do.

I personally think you should be looking to play a hand at 20BB. 10 is getting low nowadays, I think you get called by the phone book.

With the blinds and antes in the pot, 10x doesn't give me the correct odds to call, but with a decent hand I would call depending on what percentage of my stack it was. I know you're short and have a wide range.

People are much more aggressive with chips nowadays compared to when this rule of thumb was put out.

The only way to get a big stack and win tournaments is to bust people. If you are wanting for the perfect hand you will never get there.

When its the right play,its the right play,,sometimes we have to leave it up to the poker gods.

Originally Posted by karl coakley

I don't think it is a bad play. Pretty sure it's what most people will do.

I personally think you should be looking to play a hand at 20BB. 10 is getting low nowadays, I think you get called by the phone book.

With the blinds and antes in the pot, 10x doesn't give me the correct odds to call, but with a decent hand I would call depending on what percentage of my stack it was. I know you're short and have a wide range.

People are much more aggressive with chips nowadays compared to when this rule of thumb was put out.

The only way to get a big stack and win tournaments is to bust people. If you are wanting for the perfect hand you will never get there.

this ^ couldnt agree more.

As was stated above I feel when you have a stack you need to apply pressure IN POSITION to smaller stacks acting behind you. You should scoop several pots in this way. Especially the closer you are to the money. Another thing, sometimes you can have 8-10BB and 10 spots from the money but still be 5-10 spots on the good side. If your goal is to just get in the money and make a move you could max tank your time use your time bank and let others bust around you. If you do get a hand you are going to jam with same thing. Maybe don't bet your full stack gets you more tank time.

Consider this: in a MTT to be successful you have to survive by being tight. But at the end, you are up against a lot of TAG players, they fold/play carefully. If you notice your table is full of TAG players, play those small pairs more aggressively, especially towards the bubble.
Being aggressive with small pairs isn't recommended in the book, but it is a superior strategy to: fold/wait for a better hand. As the poker knight says: better to be taken out on my shield shoving 88 than being blinded out.

Well, in general, when you have a stack of 10bb or less left in the tournament, you put all-in with any pocket pair and with any ace, there is nothing even to think about.
So you do everything right, just no luck, be patient.

I don't think you made any mistakes here. You should include a lot of pairs for your shove range with 8BB, so pocket 88s is definitely up there.

I agree with fundiver199 that if you are in a situation where you are on or near the bubble with <10BB then there is probably leaks somewhere in your game mid-stage of a tournament to look at. That said it could just of been a bad beat a hand or 2 prior and with <10bb holding a mid pair like 88's you should never look to fold in that situation. The goal in MTT's should not be to just beat the bubble for min cash but get to the FT as thats where the money is otherwise eventually we will just go bust due to variance.