in a bind as the shortstack

Hey guys,
I was just playing a MTT and I ran into the following scenario. In hindsight, I have been in this kind of position often and I feel that getting some input on this would really improve my game.
So basically, my tourney strategy is very much like the one outlined by that article/post made by Michael11..(whatever the exact alias was) on FTR. Seeing flops cheaply with speculative hands, stealing when the time is right, etc.etc.
Throughout this tourney, I followed just that and enjoyed a good share of pots, but after a certain point I just went completely card dead. Nothing was worth calling and whenever I had a suited connector, suited ace, small pair, there would already be a ton of betting to the point that I am pretty much allin committed (anywhere between 1/3 to 2/3 my stack). And by the times the blinds got hefty I had almost no opportunities to steal the blinds
So to keep it short, I was blinded away. Is there anything you can really do in this situation or is this just the tough aspect of being an MTT player? Should I sometimes be taking a chance with those speculative hands even though it wont be cheap?
Thanks in advance and let me know if I'm missing some specifics

I believe that it depends how short-stacked you are. It gets to a point where you just have to get your chips in the pot, and calling only hurts. But otherwise, being a short stack can improve your odds of stealing. With a solid raise in position, catching a piece of the flop can be a good reason to push. It's a semi-bluff, but if your reads are good, you've got no problem. I see little reason, if you're going to bet short-stacked, to leave a little behind hoping to catch like 10 AIs in a row if you lose to get back up. Do or die. RUDY!

post some hands where you might have made a move but didn't.

generally, move in with anything to open the pot if you have less than 5 BBs, move in a lot of hands with less than 10 BBs.

Read HOH 1 & 2.

One situation was very common: I was way shortstacked (Less than or equal to 8 BB) I had a very low pocket pair such as 22 or 33, there was a big raise and a call in front of me. Should I have made the gamble?

no, that is a fold. you're either against 3+ overs, which is meh, or crushed by the over pair.

If the table is active and you aren't getting a lot of chances to steal in LP, you should be shoving a lot of hands < 8 BBs from EP - 78, J6s, etc. Only fold complete trash like 93.

if you are totally card dead and in danger of being blinded off, push with lower suited connectors -- basically even with 2 live cards you can do well, but preferably something that shares fewer outs with an ace. 910s, 89s, j10 are great "card dead and about to be blinded off" hands. You are likely to be called by things like AQ, AK, AJ and then you can also hope for lower pps like 55, 66, 77, 88 calling you

AK/AQ 58% v J10s 40% (no suit shared, subtract 2 for shared)
22-99 51% v j10s 49%

10s or better you are screwed, but try to pull this move after you've seen people limp in, as they are likely not to have 1010+

Really J10 is the best option, do NOT do anything with a queen or king as you have a huge chance of being dominated by AK or AQ. Really anything like 8-9, 910, j10, j8, j9,

PP's are obviously great too. If they have unpaired cards, as many all-ins often are (AQ, AK) then you are actually the favorite. 22 is just as good as 33-77 IMO, most people arent making big raises with small/mid pp unless they are a big stack.

Play sng's to improve push/fold poker.

Beggers can't be choosers.

When you are short stacked, its more positional than anything else. You need to be on the look out for opportunties that can give you a headsup race situation, and put all your chips in preflop. In which case, it is better to be the one raising than calling. But because you are so short, you may well have to call. Just keep in mind, that you don't want to be all in, in a multiway pot, as your chances of winning drop significantly. This is primary, even though you can triple or quadruple up. The risk is not worth it.

The reason it is positional rather than the quality of your cards is that you don't know how many people are going to be in the pot with you when you push. You could push in first position with a quality hand like 88, only to be called by 4 over cards - AJ & KQ, which statistically will out draw you.

To be a good tournament player, you have to be familar with the M Value (which is the total cost of chips per orbit), when your M Value nears 5, start looking for those headsup chances. Sometimes the M Value will be rather less appropriate, as you can be playing against stacks that are at least 10x your stack, you may decide to push in these cases as your raises while hefty for you, are insignificant to the big stacks. (Gotta come up with a Z Value, measuring your stack to the opponents)

At times you may decide to gamble, and push with at most two people to call, hoping that one of them folds, so you can race away. If they all fold, you should show them your junk 29o, to encourage a desperately needed call.

I hope you are familiar with your race theory. While its always good to have a pair or the kicker - both I think gives you a 55% chance* (assuming low pair vs 2 overcards), you will probalby have to push with any 2 cards. If they happen to be low, you have a 35% chance against two higher cards. Which is just like a semi-bluffed regular flush draw in terms of probability. If they have the overpair, "Jesus, what you do man? Nice preflop fluke"

Here is a good link I found a few hours after I posted this:
http://www.readybetgo.com/poker/stra...oker-1376.html