I've gotta agree with beav -- why is it "absolutely correct" for C to fold here? I'd be inclined to say fold if the problem were the other way around with the 12K stack going all-in and then being called by the 15K stack. As written, however, player A could be on anything from a flat out "I'm bored so lets grab some blinds" steal attempt to a low/mid pair or AK. What you DO know though, is that player B's hand is likely better than A's. Why do I say this? Because B just voluntarily stuck his tournament life on the line while you're scraping felt -- why would B do that UNLESS they've got a premium hand and they feel that THIS is the chance to get a commanding advantage for the tournament?

So now the question becomes does the chance of moving up in prize money from B getting knocked off compensate for folding in a situation where you are almost assuredly dominating both players collectively? If you fold here, you're running up a white flag...either B loses or you HAVE to win your next hand with random cards to stay alive. Even if you clear that hurdle, you'll have to do the exact same thing two hands later with another randomly dealt hand or you'll be blinded out again.

On the flipside, you can emerge from this with 1,500 in chips by flipping in your last black chip. If you win, you've just bought yourself about six hands of discretion and a new life while watching either B get knocked out or A get crippled down to just double your stack size.

Fight on your feet or die like a dog -- your odds of winning against both players with AA is equal to or better than the odds of A knocking off B based on the betting, so push and pray.

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