Hey guys
so i need some help with something here. In my mind it seems obvious but im wondering what others view on it is.
So we are in an MTT and get dealt a pocket pair, something like 88, 99 TT. there is one raiser in front. Do you fold it? or do as i do and raise it, often to a size to show the opponent your committed ( depending on the guys range. if he is a 4% raiser or something crazy ill toss it)
Basically, reviewing my database it seems 85% of my exits come from situations where im allin with a pocket pair against 2 overcards. Now my concern is this. Surely folding the pair when you have higher equity is bad poker. or is it? Am i taking too many coin tosses? should i be flatting more and seeing a flop, ready to give up if a nasty flop comes? the problem i have here is so many donks stay in the hand when they shouldnt, thinking they have the best hand. and then they hit there 32% turns

opinions please

Well I am no tourney expert, but IMO the correct answer to that question will depend heavily on the situation. By situation I mean your M zone, stage of tournament, how deep you are in the money, or if your in the money at all. If you are yet to hit the money I personally believe that avoiding flips is a solid strategy in tourneys and would likely fold in the above scenario, unless my M was very healthy then set mining could be a good idea. If you are in the money already and it comes down to a double up opportunity against the chip leader then I might raise it/commit myself. Of course blind level compared to stack(Mzone) needs to be considered with every decision and that will often make your decisions a bit more easy.

Like i said this is just my opinion and I would appreciate any input from good tourney players and some opinions on my reply and whether my thinking is solid or not. Thanks

The answer to your question is, it depends:

Stack sizes
Stage of tournament
Position of open raiser
Your position
Player tendencies/table dynamics

No offense, but when someone asks a poker question, this is exactly the answer they are not looking for, since this is the answer to any poker question. So, if you have something to say than say it, otherwise don't waste people's time with gibberish.

The point of my post was to help OP define his question better. The question was way too general to answer. It would be like me posting: "How much do I raise to with AA?" Obviously there isn't enough information. Sorry you felt this was "gibberish".

i Think perhaps those of you wanting me to provide details to a situation are misunderstanding my question. let me simplify
Slansky's theory states that essentially we are making a bad move everytime we fail to make a decision which in the long run would have positive ev. So by turning down the move with 55% equity we are making the wrong decision long term. Does this mean slansky was wrong? or does his theory only apply to cash games? Im puzzled because even AA vs 72 is only 87% favourite. So inevitably you will lose eventually. I would imagine in a tournament you will easily be dealt aa 10 times, meaning you would likely lose once anyway.

and yes i know i missed the k out. sklansky*

I believe that, in tournaments, sometimes it's better to take the lower variance route, rather than a marginal +EV spot. The reason being, that you can find better spots in future hands, and accumulate chips through postflop play. Looking at the tournament as a whole, getting it in constantly as a slight favorite preflop is definitely -EV. Minimizing variance in tournaments is an important concept. There are several ways to accumulate chips without risking your stack and making the plays with the best risk/reward ratio will give you the best results.

There are a few times in a tournament when you have to get it in with these hands. When you have less than 25bbs, you should be getting it in vs a raise most of the time, unless the raiser is very tight. When short stacked, any time you are ahead of someones range, get it in obviously. Keeping fold equity on your side by being first to move in is very important, as it increases expectation and decreases variance. Finally, ICM considerations can make a marginal +cEV spot a -EV spot, so folding these hands comes into play sometimes.