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Cash game player here, I very rarely play MTTs and pretty much dislike them, but I'd like to get better at them so I can occasionally play them to mix things up, and to take advantage of soft live tournaments when I can.

I feel like, being a cash game player, I've got an advantage early when stacks are really deep because people are so terrible postflop. I'm also pretty solid at push/fold as I spent some time studying shortstacking and STTs. But where I admittedly suck is in between, because I have almost no experience playing 30-50bb stacks. With those stack sizes it just feels like everything is awkward and I never like any of my options. Here's an example hand of where I typically have problems.

Full Tilt Poker $10 + $1 KO Sit & Go No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t150/t300 Blinds + t25 - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: t3300
MP1: t6775
MP2: t30045
CO: t9760
BTN: t6430
SB: t6780
Hero (BB): t8565
UTG: t2885
UTG+1: t4530

Pre Flop: (t675) Hero is BB with A Q
5 folds, CO raises to t700, 2 folds, Hero ...

Just got moved to this table, so I've only seen 1 hand and CO folded it pf. I'm definitely inclined to 3bet here, but a standard 3bet size puts in a huge % of my stack, yet I feel like I'm too deep to just shove. I'm somewhere around 10th out of 40 remaining in the tournament at this point, so I don't want to spew my stack off, but this guy's range has to be super-wide here.

Sorry if this is incredibly standard! Just point me in the right direction.

One option is just to flat call, see a flop and play some poker. You're setting up a favorable stack-to-pot ratio for a TPTK hand, and have the implied odds to play hit-to-win.

I think a "standard" 3-bet of 3-4x would looks like it's going to give you commitment trouble either pre-flop or on the flop.

So I think a feasible alternative line is to put in a smaller three-bet to maybe 1400-1600. You give him the option of folding (though many players will call you with their entire range because of pot odds and position). More importantly though, you are usurping his initiative if he calls, while keeping the pot small enough to give you a reasonable chance to steal it on the flop (since the smaller the pot, the less "tied" to it your opponent will feel). Additionally, you are giving him a chance to re-raise and basically announce his hand to you allowing you to get away from the smaller pot, less committed to the hand.

Which line you take depends on how much ambiguity and risk you can tolerate, as well as how well you feel you read hands.

Any idea to do go and go? Raise like 2400 and if villain calls basicly shove any flop?

Any idea to do go and go? Raise like 2400 and if villain calls basicly shove any flop?

This is a reasonable line IMO. Flatting doesn't seem bad either.

Thanks for the feedback guys. In the actual hand I 3bet small to like 1700 and he flatted. The flop was something gross like J97tt so I didn't cbet and ended up check/folding to his turn bet. I'll consider just flatting in that situation in the future, keeps me from getting in a situation where I'm putting in a high % of my stack and then folding. Normally I don't like calling oop against someone with a wide range, but with these stack sizes maybe it's the best option.

Go and go seems pretty risky considering I have the 3rd largest stack at the table and villain has the 2nd largest, right? Don't I want to mostly avoid confrontations with him in marginal situations, and instead put pressure on the shorter stacks?

I don't like flatting here OOP. Either muck it or re-raise and either take control of this hand or take it down right there. I do like a smallish re-raise however I think 1600 is too low. I would like to see a re-raise here of 1800-1900. Not a significant portion of your stack however still shows "strength" and announces to your opponent that you're quite possibly shoving or making a substantial bet on the flop and he could fold as he does not want to get crippled with a mediocre hand.