I like your play here, the results sucked but that is part of poker. You are well below average stack, you need to double up or better here, if everyone folds this is a losing proposition for you. You are going to need to double up at least twice probably more to get into the top 3. You are taking a risk but you are going to have to at some point anyways. If all you do is steal the blinds you give it all back in the next two hands and then you are back to trying to find a hand to double up with. Finishing 28th and finishing 12th are pretty much the same thing the way the pay structure works.

I disagree with Rhound50.

Theres no reason to bet half your stack and commit yourself here. With your stack at 6xBB a 3xBB raise tells me you want to be called. I'd be more willing to call your bet with a far weaker holding to KK if you bet it all. If a weak ace calls you have to like it... you have a guy down to three outs. The higher price would probably still get called by the button player but it would probably force the BB to fold his Q9 instead of calling. In all likelyhood you had the button dominated here.

A small raise by a short stack screams I want to get the most money out of this as I can. With 3xBB you *can't* fold to any flop nor would you want to give yourself that option. I push allin here and hope to get called by something like Q9. If he makes the straight after calling every chip you plan to put in the pot then so be it, that's poker, but I don't see a reason to let him see it for less than everything you have. If no one has a hand to call and you get the blinds... thats poker as well.. it gives you a free orbit and adds 25% to your stack. I just don't see a point for trying to get 3 people into a pot with KK.

My reasoning for this is simple, in order to make any real money you are going to have to double up at least twice to make any real money for finising 1st-3rd, what better hand to it with than KK. I want people in my pot with KK, I want Q/9 to call when I am pot comitted he calling you with a huge underdog and he is going to call your flop bet if he gets any piece of it. Unless he flops the straight, two pair or trips which is a combined 15% he is drawing at 5 outs or less which is again a huge favorite.

Reason #2 the result if you dont get a caller, you now get to see more hands before going all-in. 6x BB is short stacked in any tournament setup. When the blinds go up you are only going to have only 4x BB. So you take the blinds now what, you have 10 hands to again try to double up or steal none of which are going to be better than your KK, plus since you just raised all in you are going to look agressive to the rest of the table making it harder for you to steal with Ax when it is folded to you. So then you dont get a hand in the next 10, the % says you will not get a top 10 hand in the next 10, so the blinds cut through you you now have 9k and the blinds are now 2k/4k you now only have 2x bb and you are not even going to have enough chips to push someone off a mediocre hand in the BB because they are going to be getting 3:1 on their call.

Yes it was a risk, but I think you played it right, your opponant hit is 15% flop tha beat you, but if everyone folds to you all in raise here you are likely going to finsh 10th-15tth place which is almost or no just in prize money.