Small blind play in tournament when everyboy else has folded

[thenlguru]

I have major leak in my game, I dont have even the tiniest clue how to play in SB when everybody else has folded.
I fold 90% hands here, and usually call the other because I just hape putting fair share of my stack in to the pot out of position. Only exception is when the BB is very short stack and I can push around by putting him allin.

I dont know how to specife my question, but if someone have general advices for SB play in tournament I would be very thankfull!

[Voltorb]

This is a fun situation. As in heads-up play, I think a call here is incorrect most of the time. Early in the tournament, I would call more often to establish a passive image. At this stage it isn't really worth the risk anyway. Later in the tournament, you must take some opportunities to raise in this situation. Its been my experience that most people in this situation will fold, since they will usually be holding a bunch of junk anyway. A great spot to do this is on the bubble, when the big blind player has enough chips to survive but not enough to make plays. The last thing they want is a contest. In this situation, good starting hand qualities are very low. If you have any ace, you should get real aggressive. Bet, and if you get called, go ahead and bet the flop if you hit it or not. Same can be said for any king. The queen is getting kinda low though. Knowing your opponent will help alot in this situation. This is exactly why Dan Harrington advises that as you first learn to watch opponents, start with the two to your right and the one to your left. Be wary of tricky, aggressive players, who will likely play back at your steal attempt with anything. Barring the unlikely event that one of you happen to actually have a hand, the most aggressive player will take the pot.

Don't worry too much about folding here though. Sometimes it is the best play. 90% of the time is a bit too much though. If you want to just focus on the cards, you must ask yourself if your hand can beat a random hand in this situation. If your hand can beat 50% of starting hands its at least worth a call, right. If you intend to be aggressive after the flop, then go ahead and bet before the flop. If your opponent calls the bet pre-flop and you don't hit, you can abandon and check away.

[Sam T.]

If you are uncomfortable playing the SB, don't.

As PokerNeal said in a great post describing the tactics that brought him a huge win:

[ QUOTE ]
[I] almost always folded hands in SB because I have gone in with the minimum bet, partialy flopped, found it hard to get away from the flop, and lost a bundle.

[/ QUOTE ]

If PokerNeal does it, it can't be all wrong.

That said, 90% is a lot. (How often have you been sitting in the BB with your 82o and 11BB when it's folded to you? You want to give the guy in the SB a great big hug, 'cause if he even looked at his chips you were folding.)

Also, make sure you take comprehensive notes on the two players to your immediate left. Do they fold to your button or CO steals? To min-raises from the CO? That should give you some idea of how aggressively the BB will defend his blind, and how often you can go after it.

In any case, I would say keep playing tournaments as you have been until you are comfortable with SB play, then start getting more aggressive. (Also, if this is your biggest leak, you are one of the better players here.)