I was playing in an MTT once where I was dealt AA and 4 people jumped all-in before me.
So here's the thought experiment ... simple ... what do you do?
In my $2.00 freezeout MTT ... I called. I was very surprised that my aces actually held up ... too many ways to get sucked out on. (I didn't catch an Ace either.) So that's fine and well and good for a $2 funament. (And a nice way to quintuple up ... I went on to win that tourney prolly because of that one hand.)
However what if you're at the WSOP main event, day 2. Would you make the same play? I have to say I wouldn't. I would agree with BK completely, and simply wait for a better spot. Better spots WILLcome, and you can fold a monster in the meantime. It's not about winning the pot, it's about winning the tournament. Any play which makes you likely to get knocked out of a tourney is not the best play AT THE TIME despite the EV of the hand. Just because everyone else has it worse than you, does not mean that you're really in good shape. This is not a cash game. It is a tourney. Sure you're prolly the favorite preflop hand (although given the action, that's not certain) ... but without running the numbers ... you're far more likely to get knocked out than win. Simple as that. Once you're knocked out ... there is NO $. So IMO ... 30-40% EV to win means you're more than likely to get nothing and lose your buyin.
I don't believe it is correct to play hands in a tournament based completely on the EV of the hand ... we are not dealing with the long run. We are dealing with the instant 1-hand short run.
So with all that being said ... in this particular instance, I agree with Pok's call. (Given stack sizes in relation to the blinds.) This could have been the best chance that was going to come before getting blinded off.
Edit: Afterthought ... ATE the expert said something which stuck with me even in cash games ... "Why get all your money in on a coin-flip, when your opponents will throw all-in when you're 80/20 favorite?"Statistics: Posted by pokerzen — Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:42 am
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