I was deep in an online MTT last night, and made probably a marginal +EV play. We had just gone into the money with about 19 players left of the original 130. I was in 9th. Here's the situation.

I had 25K in chips left with the average stack around 20K. Blinds were 1500/2500 with a 100 ante, so I had about 5 Ms left. I pick up A9 os and was second to act. UTG folds, and I push all-in.

I could fold it and wait for a better spot, but with the blinds coming, I decided to push, as some small stacks might call with a pair smaller than 9s or any ace. As it turns out, I was called by the leader who had 125K in chips with KQos.

The question is, "Did I make the correct decision?" I think I did, but wanted to get some feedback.

How many people were left to act? How close were you from the prize bubble? How big were the stacks behind? How tight was the table?

Off the top of my head, I think I usually let this one pass.

It was a full ring, so there were 8 left to act. We were already in the money. Avg stack was $20K and I was in 9th, so I was bigger than most. Table was on the tight side with the exception of the KQos caller. If I fold there I'm UTG next, followed by the BB. My thinking was that I needed to act at some point over the next few hands. I hate getting blinded away, and moving up from 20th to 10th wouldn't have meant much money. It's all about 1-3 in my opinion, so I think it was the right play. I'll win the blinds and antes probably 80% of the time, and have coin flips 10%, while being a huge dog only 10%.

This is a bad shove because the chances are very high that someone will have a stronger hand and call you. You are also in early position which means many are left to act behind you. Given the small stacks at the table it is best to wait and let them knock each other out while you increase your payout.