Sit n Go bubble: need luck or need strategy?

Consider a 9 player sit n go in a late stage (only 4 players left) that pays top three places. there are 9x1500= 13500 chips in play and you are the low stack, about 2000 chips. the other 3 players have a stack of 3500-4000. Blinds are up to 150-300, next level is about to start(200-400) and every time you are the BB one of them raises. You noticed that one them tries to steal the blinds all the time.

You're the BB now so you post 400 , the same players raises up to 1200 and you're looking down on Q10? what do you do? I went all in.. he had ducks and i ended on the bubble. I know this kind of situation is a coinflip so a little luck could have held me in the game. Up to this point i tried to steal some blinds too to stay alive. Should i have folded this hand try to make my way up again with shoving my 1600 in with one of the next three hands. Was it a bad move? How could i avoid these kind of situations? Did I need luck or did I better strategy?

Please discuss...

Its a tough situation and I don't have a technical answer to give you. However, by the time I get down to 10BB, I know which of the remaining players are "bullying" with their stacks and who is playing "tight" to finish top three. I'm attacking the blinds of the tight players and re-popping the bullies whenever I have a decent hand. The bullies will probably call but as you found out you have to win some coin flips at the end to win the tourney.

Luck is definetly an important part to the game, but I NEVER want to have to depend on luck to decide my game strategy. If I did I would play Roulette. Your senario is a tough one, and I can't say that I haven't been in the same boat. The only thing that I can suggest is that Q 10 isn't a very good hand against any pocket pair. Now of course you didn't know he had a pair until it was too late. When you are short stacked and under pressure, more marginal hands seem playable, and can (with luck) sometimes end up winning. But if I still have a couple of blinds, and I'm not sure I want to go all in with the hand I have, I fold. I read something that helps me in this situation. I think it was Allen Cunningham, he said "if it isn't a hand that you would normally go all-in with, then fold. But don't limp or call. It all or nothing!" It doesn't always work out quite that simply, but it is a good thought process for me when the pressure is on.

With only 1600 chips left after the BB post you've not a lot of great options in your position....next hand (if you fold) -200 sb
--> stack 1400 but you can only wait so long at that stage of the game anyway.....Q10 probably worth a shot any way....either way you have few options so it was probably your best option to push and hope.....

sometimes you just have too.....gl

Yes, that was just a hard game. Only solution i could think of afterwards was being a little more agressive in the previous blind level(s). Putting my stack in a few times earlier trying to steal some more blinds. Everybody tries to prevent ending on the bubble and know if they call and loose the tables are turned...

Your situation was indeed tough. You made the best play in your situation. You are going to have to flip that coin no matter what as the big stacks are not going to let you get a free look. Holding out for a premium hand just wasn't a good option. even if you got one three hands later and doubled up your position hasn't changed:You'd still only have 2400 chips and they will still lean on you. You needed heads and got tails. That's poker.

On the sit and go bubble you need to develop a "strategy" that is tested to work over a million hands but have "Luck" for the next hand.

Queen ten not a bad hand multiple options preflop and if u only had certain bb left why not go for it if you waited ya might of had to push with the little chips ya have with a lesser hand at least u hand a chance .