Opinion on this play with pocket 9's

[MileHighKid]

This is my first post here and wanted to get an opinion on this play. Online won satellites for entry into a hold 'em $5k buy in sit and go. Typical sng payout structure ($25k/$15k/$10k).

Here's the situation: I've only got about 650 in chips and am the short stack. There are 8 people left and the blinds are 75/150. Tight game with almost every hand being heads up or three way with not too many seeing a showdown. Many hands get folded to a pre-flop raise. Average stack is probably about 1200. I get 9-9 in middle position and the hand is folded around to me. I raise to $300. It's folded to the SB who calls. The SB is the chip leader with about 2600 in chips. He's been playing some questionable hands but has been picking up pots and is running hot. But, none the less seems like a fairly solid player who hasn't been in trouble to this point. The flop comes 4-Q-7 rainbow. SB checks to me. I've got 300 and change left so I go all in figuring he's got a couple high cards. He seems to raise on the flop if he's paired up. He calls and has A-A. Turn is another A and of course he knocks me out.

I know I'm going to lose that hand no matter what because no bet I can make is going to push him off A's. Still probably didn't play the hand the best I could have. Eventhough was down on chips had been playing solid. Lost a hand with 10-10 and another one with AKo, so didn't feel like I'd played too bad to that point eventhough I had a short stack. Anyways, very rarely do I just open with 2x the BB, probably should have just pushed them all in pre-flop because 3x would have left me with around 200 with high blinds. My other option would have been to just call 150 and see what the flop brought. I don't think with 9's though that I want to call and let more people in the pot. I don't believe that folding 9's is even an option. Other option would have been to check on the flop and see what the turn brings and get away from the hand if he bets the turn, I only would have just over 300 left though and be forced to go all in very soon. Wanted to shut him out right there if he hadn't hit.

Thoughts on playing the middle pairs in those situations? Thoughts on playing the higher dollar sit and go's and accumulating more chips early on? Early on I was second in chips but hands mentioned above got me to low stack.

[octaveshift]

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Thoughts on playing the middle pairs in those situations?

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Push pre-flop.

[Sabrazack]

You have 5xBB and pocket nines, easiest push ever [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[benza13]

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\I've only got about 650 in chips and am the short stack...the blinds are 75/150. Tight game. I get 9-9 in middle position and the hand is folded around to me. I raise...

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I picked the important info out of this post. Your only option with 4x BB is all in preflop. 99 is an autopush here, along with a lot of other hands. At this stage your standards need to open up since the blinds are so high and your only option preflop is the push. This is a hand that you weren't meant to win, but you aren't going to run into the overpair too often, so you can't be afraid of that. And the raise you made commits you to the pot, so you might as well just put them in immediately, not like you were folding if someone came over the top.

[MileHighKid]

Thanks for the feedback. When I only did the small raise I knew I made a mistake immediately. As it turned out I wasn't going to win the hand but good info for the next time.