[Irieguy]

People ask me why I fold small pocket pairs in the early levels of a SNG. While I think you played the hand well for a ring game, you illustrate my reasoning well:

"I have a pocket pair, I'll limp for set value"

SB raises.

"Hmm. I still have pretty good implied odds, I'll still call for set value. Come on 5, come on 5, come on 5."

No set on flop. SB bets.

"Damn. Wait a second, though. He probably has AK or AQ. There are probably 19 other hands he could have, and most of them beat me... but I just think he has AK. I'll call. Come on 5, come on 5, come on 5!"

Turn blanks. SB bets pot.

"Looks like I'm screwed unless I just push and hope I'm right about the AK thing. Yeah, I'll push."

SB folds.

"I am a super genius. My skills dwarf all other SNG players."

Well, the bottom line is that you put all your chips at risk in level 1 of a SNG with only 3rd pair and a flush draw on board. You get called here most of the time... most of the time you are beat, and some of the time when you aren't beat you lose on the river.

My opinion is that you understand poker pretty well, so you are not likely to call off your whole stack in level 1 without a hand. Therefore, this type of play is about the worst mistake you can possibly make.

Irieguy