The posts about M are incorrect. Your M is 12 (18K/1500). You are in the Yellow Zone, two zones above the Red Zone.
blackmagicz;145376 wrote...with about 18K and the blinds are 500-1K there are 8 of us left and 6 make the money (not really relevant in this questions but just in case someone cares)
This is very relevant for both your preflop and postflop decisions. A raise against your 44 while in the Yellow Zone is an easy fold, especially in a second-to-bubble situation.
Chip leader bets out 4K again (so I know he has hit the flop because that is the only way he would bet out)....now I have 14K left and I want to get all my chips in the middle with a "uh I guess i have to call" (chip leader mentality).
Since your read is that he hit the flop and you can only raise $10K more, you should go all-in on the flop. Since he is getting 2.75-to-1 pot odds to call, it will be easy for him as chip leader to make the call. If you wait until the turn to go all-in, it will be easier for him to fold, e.g., if it is an overcard to his pair, or if your read was wrong and he hasn't hit with only one card to come. Even if he folded to your flop raise, you should be happy that there is no more possibility of a suck-out and you have gained a lot of prize equity with 27,500 chips.