Hypothetical SNG Question

[Terribad]

I would just raise out the shorty and lock up the cash spot. Remember, the goal here is to win money and not accumulate chips. Yes, there is probably some +EV in letting the shorty protect you for a little while, but really not enough incentive to deter you from a guaranteed payout with the blinds this low.

The blinds are low enough where middle stack isn't trying to shove/risk his SNG life on a lot of hands and can try and wait for a better hand-especially with a super shorty, which is the perfect time to pick-away at his stack. If you knock out shorty, mid-stack still has enough chips to do significant damage to your stack, so I would want to chip away and pad my stack before i go HU.

[memberr]

Because you're supposed to "think outside the box" and consider....

If you let the shortie absentee stick around...then the other guy is kinda forced into folding to you any time you raise since he knows he can get 2nd by outlasting the guy sitting out. So you increase your chance of first by keeping him around and preying on the other guy's desire to cash. So the answer to me depends (isn't that always the answer!?!) on what you know of the guy who's still there. That info isn't given, of course.

While this makes some sense, I feel it is out weighed by the chance that the sitter might show back up....why give a 3rd player life? They could show up, triple up, and then go on to win....bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush, knock out the sitter.

[LadyWrestler]

Yeah. I think we are in danger of over thinking this. If we keep him in, he could return suddenly and, as memberr said, who knows what might happen? We all know that poker is unpredictable. I would take the BB while I had the chance.