SnG: 3 equal stacks left...how to play AA, KK, QQ

[A-Baum]

$5, $10, or $20 NL SnG, there are 3 players left all with equal stacks. They are weak tight in my opinion, never raise pre-flop. I've been in this position a couple times, and blinds were 100/200 or 200/400.

If you are dealt AA, how do you play it? Do you automatically push here regardless of position? Do you push and hope to steal the blinds or push in hopes that someone calls?

Is there any situation where you call/minraise here in hopes of bringing someone in the pot? Both times I pushed and stole the blinds. I think most people will say push, but just curious if there is another school of thought in this situation.

[Benholio]

I push with these the majority of the time, but it is really dependant on reads to do anything different. If I have been pushing a lot in the last several hands (which is usually the case), I will definately push, because they are just waiting to crack me at this point.

The table you described, where no-one is raising, I would definately not check. You could try to min-raise and then push the flop, hoping someone calls and hits a top pair, I guess.

The best situation is when there are other very aggressive players for you to trap. Thats when you can check or min-raise more profitably.

[RobGW]

Pushing and only winning the blinds is a bad result for you when you have these type of premium hands. If they are tight, I'd make a smaller raise to try to get them to put more money in before I lay the hammer down.