[jwvdcw]

Ok, so say theres 3 or 4 people left in a tourney and the blinds are significantly high. You're dealt a pair of 5s. These types of hands I really struggle with how to play. Heres my problem:

You most probably have the best hand at the table. Ideally, you would like to just win the blinds. This is one hand that you don't really want to see a flop with because you're most likely not going to improve(you want to see a flop with these types of hands when the blinds are low early in the tourney and there are many people in the pot). Its such a tricky situation when you see the flop because say its something like 7,9, Q rainbow. If he bets, can you call? If he checks, do you bet into him?

Usually, what I've been doing is simply making a huge preflop raise that lets people know that I'm willing to go all in with this hand. If they call, thats fine because I'm most likely a favorite and they are practically committed to going all in. If they fold, then thats great. However, I realize that this isn't the best move. Going all in(or close to it) preflop is generally a move for people who feel like they are outclassed or don't have the skill to play the hand out. They are scared to see a flop against the better opponents, so they simply steal the blinds when they get hands. And since I have no idea how to play these hands, I usually fall into that category.

Now obviously, if you are shortstacked, I think you can just move all in. And, conversely, if you have a huge stack then you can make a moderate raise such as 3x BB and feel fine laying it down if you don't improve. However, what do you do when you are medium stacked and losing 3x the BB would significantly hurt you? What is your general strategy for playing these types of hands in these situations?