First, let me state that this was a 3000 person freeroll on RV - I would not normally be so risky on a hand like this. But, considering the circumstances, I thought that it was worth a shot.

Not even close to the money yet and I was getting short stacked. I was on the big blind, which was, I think, $100 (maybe $50), but after the blind I was down to around $550 and had not been catching any cards. There were a few biggish stack at the table, ranging from $2000-$4000+, the rest were maybe $700-$1500. Table was pretty passive, except for one or two of the larger stacks, but even they weren't too aggressive.

I'm dealt Kc2c on the BB, about 4 callers, I check.

Flop is something like 245 (might have been 235, but that's not an issue), with one club. I go all-in for around $550 to start the betting

Here's the thought process:

1) It's a freeroll
2) While I only have bottom pair and good kicker, the chances of the other callers pairing the board, in my opinion, were rather low (SB had folded, I think), so I could already be leading.
3) Outside chance at a flush, but that wasn't much of a consideration.
4) All-in move could signal to the table that I have a straight, two pair, or trips, especially since I got a free look at the flop. Thus, I could force everyone to fold.
5) If anyone does call, there would be a good chance that they just have high cards, like AK or KQ, and think they have the best hand with the rag flop.

Result: all but one fold, who has 99. Turn was another club, so I had 14 outs on the river, but I didn't catch it and went out at about 1000th place. Turns out, if the guy did just have high cards, as I thought might happen, I would've won, as nothing hit the board above an 8.

Again, I would not make this move in a real money game, but considering the situation, while it was risky, I don't think it was all that stupid. Points 4 and 5 above were the most important in my thought process.

Any thoughts?

well he wouldn't have AK or AQ because they would have rose before the flop. I'd be pretty worried about someone having pocket pair or a pair higher than you since everyone limped in.

I see this kind of call pretty often in tournaments. The guy called with 99 against a possible straight, set, two pairs, or an overpair. So, when you actually get that straight, push it all-in. It looks suspicious, and for some reason, people will call you anyway, with something as bad as two high cards.

Then you are moved to another table, no one knows what happened, so you can do it again.

Surprisingly, in 10$ buy-in tournaments and lower, this works very often, even if you play tight and never bluff.