Don't worry too much. you made the right play that time I think. Can't really evaluate 4th place finishes as a statistic until you have more SNGs under your belt. If you are finishing ITM 50%, then don't worry too much about your 4th place finishes -- the whole point of decreasing 4ths is to increase ITM, but you are OK there.

Erik
I am probably more of a "feel" player, than most the guys on this forum, but generally speaking, I would have done exactly the same...Hell, you were the favorite, and you cannot ask for more than that when you are short stacked...A couple hundred more SNG's and the 4th place numbers will be more realistic as far as a long term view...I think I am around 9% 4th place finishes over 300 SNGs---I wouldnt worry about it too much until you get another 50 or 100 under your belt, as it can run that way sometimes...LOL I even busted out 1st the other day!! I think that was the first time in over 200 of 'em...

Your other numbers look great---but why do you play the 5's, then a 20?? You get bored? It "could" be a leak...I have done the same, but since I started posting my journal, I played ALL 5's until it was time to move to the 10's. I have the BR for the 20's, but I like a bigger BR than most, and there is always a confidence issue anytime you move up...
GL
B

Mine is 31% and I feel plenty crappy about it. I hear people say all the time to steal more often when you are on the bubble from similar stacks. So I have been playing more aggressive near the bubble. So guess what happens. Many times I try to steal with decent hands and get pushed all in. Then I fold. Then, it happens again, then I fold.

There are just too many people out there willing to push all their chips in the middle - maybe they have hands, maybe not, but a great example is today.

4 players left and I'm chip leader with $5300 in chips on a FT $11 SNG. The table had gone tight weak, so with blinds 150/300, from UTG I throw out a $900 bet with A 9 soooted to push on the BB, who had been folding everything, but I had him well covered if he moved all in. So what happens? The dude with $4000 in chips calls the bet, the BB folds. Flop is crap. Since I was lead raiser, I throw out a 1/2 pot bet to get the caller to fold. He goes over the top and I fold.

Now, I have about $2000 in chips and I'm in the SB. I catch jacks. I throw a min-raise out at the BB to get action - he has $1800 left. The loser goes all in on me with A 3 os and catches a mother f'ing ace. I'm gone.

I get so f'ing pissed off at crap like this. I mis-played one god damn hand and it costs me money. Mother f'er. Still tilting.

That's fairly indicative of a lot of my 4th place finishes. Sometimes I feel like I just can't win. If I tighten up too much, I lose my blinds too often. If I play tight aggressive, I enjoy a 4th place finish with nothing to show for it but a busted computer screen and fist.

kdiddy... there's NOTHING more frustrating than being a HUGE chipleader and getting screwed out of the money with a couple crappy hits by small stacks allins and failed steals...

If it's an aggressive table, there are times that I'll just sit back and let them knock each other out... Also, if I'm throwing out a steal bet, and get called by another big stack, there's a pretty decent chance I'm going into check/fold mode to make sure I don't get busted...