Raising from the BB after the bubble has burst

[kettleofish]

So i'm working on making my game more aggro in the late stage of SnGs, and was looking for a few pointers about when to do so etc. Here's a hand a feel i should have raised from:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (3 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero (t11815)
Button (t11010)
SB (t4175)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 8.
Button calls t200, SB completes, Hero checks.???

Given my reasonably healthy stack and the lack of a raise, should i be raising here? Another example:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (4 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero (t10495)
UTG (t10685)
Button (t4175)
SB (t1645)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, K.
UTG calls t200, Button calls t200, 1 fold, Hero checks??

Should i be looking to raise almost all the time in spots like these, regardless of the cards I hold? And as an aside, does the value of the two above hands increase a lot when short handed, and actually make them strong enough hands to perhaps even reraise with?

[taipan168]

A lot of this depends on reads, are opps limp/callers or have they limp/re-raised hands previously. That said, in a vacuum:

Hand 1: I make it 800 to go from the BB. A8o is a strong hand 3-handed, if you take it down preflop that's no bad thing and even if they call it sets you up to make a c-bet on the flop.

Hand 2: This one is more read dependent - if opps have limp/folded previously I make it 1000 to go with your stack; if they are limp/callers I just check and see a flop.

[TLR]

I would raise the first about 800-1000, and check the 2nd