moving up---not too long

[college kid]

For the past few weeks I've been playing 30s and 50s on Party after playing mostly 20s. I've found the twenties to be much easier and mostly you just get your hands paid off and wade it out into the money and outplay your way to first. (These guys will call with any hand heads up, pretty much)

For the 30s and 50s, usually I just pick up pots, because the players are tighter post-flop, and then just try and pick up chips when I see a chance--and if I happen to get a hand, awesome.

I want to plug a leak in my 30 and 50s. My big trouble is when it's four or five handed and getting close to the money, and I have managed to only stay about even or a little less-- like 600-700 in the 30s and 800-1000 in the 50s (the 50s start with T1000) and it's level 5 or 6. I don't know exactly what kind of risks to take to pick up the blinds and when or when not to shove.

For example, with three other people and me, I had eights on the button, and the blinds were one and two. I had T1200, and every one else had between 1500 and 2500. I didn't know if I should min-raise, shove, or just fold. I shoved and got called by an ace nine and lost and that's the way it goes.

A similar sitation happened when I had T800 in the SB, with four people total, and I had fours and blinds were 150-300. I'm not very upset about this since I had so few chips and was just facing the BB, but I still wonder.

From my experience in the $20+2 SnGs, I have been waiting for a hand even when I have one or two blinds left, and that has gotten me in the money a lot, because I get four callers if I shove in the 20s SnGs, but I've found in the 30s and 50s it seems more right to try and get blinds and build chips as fast as possible, so when I'm short stacked, I take these chances. Once I get in the money, as long as I have more than three blinds, I can almost always pick up first or second.

Any thoughts? Keeping shoving on the coin flips or not??? What stack size should change my mind??? How would you all do this???? Thanks, and sorry for the length.