Do you call here?

Late in a $135 buy in 40 player tournament. There are 7 of us left, blinds are 2000/4000. 4 people are getting paid, 1st is 2100, 4th is 500. I have about T15000, and I have an about average stack in terms of the people left. Needless to say with the blinds so high in terms of the average stack size it had become an all-in fest.

Chip leader goes all-in UTG. I'm in the button with 44 and everyone else had folded (a couple people out of turn). Based on the previous 4 hours of play with this player I am very confident that he has overcards and not a pocket pair. I call because I figure I am ahead (though slightly) and if my 4's hold up I'll be in good position to finish 1st or 2nd.

He has AK and a king comes on the flop and I lose.

I knew the best I could hope for was 50/50 when I went into it but I am trying to analyze whether I should have made the call. I am not used to playing in the bubble with the blinds so high.

I pushed with worse hands then that in order to stay alive but calling is a different story. Do you call here if you are sure villian has overcards? Why or why not?

[Danny H.]

If it's going to be an all-in fest, stay out b/c then probably 3 guys will be knocked out ahead of you and you know you're 50/50 at best but probably 67-75% chance you'll get in the money so I don't call here.

Just to clarify what I meant by "all in fest." A lot of people were going all in but nobody was calling because no one wanted to finish just outside of the money. Money just kept changing hands through blind steals. I guess it would have been more aptly termed "blind steal fest."

...Obviously someone would have called eventually and the blinds were going up in a few minutes so people would have gotten blinded out (including myself) so while I certainly had a decent chance of squeaking into the money I would definitely not say it was certain as I was due up to lose half my stack to blinds in a couple hands.

[TxSteve]

i would never call there.

you know for a fact you are a very slight favorite at best.

I look for a better spot

[Annulus]

stack sizes would help . but easy fold unless you are in danger of blinding out soon. Your calling for your tourney life in a situation in which you are a coin flip at best and 4 to 1 dog many times. You are average chips, wait for a situaion in which you have a better hand, or you can open push to steal blinds.

[Juff]

[ QUOTE ]
i would never call there.

you know for a fact you are a very slight favorite at best.

I look for a better spot

[/ QUOTE ]

[JC_Saves]

I think that in this situation I would not call, due to the fact that he is making this move with a lot of people to act yet. I think that he could make this move with any PP, AK, AQ, KQ, AJ and maybe AT to this range of hands you are a solid dog.

I would look for other spots to try to make a move.

Ok well what's a better spot? I'm not trying to answer my own question, I believe there have to be legitimate reasons for folding however I don't think any of you have taken into account the blind size in relation to my stack. I had 15000, the blinds are 2000/4000. There are 7 people. I'm in the button, the blinds are coming my way in 5 hands and taking half my stack.

If I had acted before the raiser I would have pushed that hand without a moment's hesitation. I'm not going to get cards better than 44 anytime soon (i.e. within the next 5 hands) and will likely have to push with weaker hands if I don't call here.

So I suppose ultimately what I am asking is: Is calling here the same as pushing here?

Would you fold cards in this situation that you would normally push (if you knew you were not up against a monster hand)?

Why/not?

*edited to add*

Actually I think this is far too situational to benefit from any advice. I had a read, I made a decision, I went in as a favorite and I lost. I knew it was a gamble and it didn't pay out, no one can really justify it for me one way or the other, I think I'm just suffereing from hand playback syndrome.

Thanks for the responses thus far.

[kuro]

Calling isn't the same as pushing because you don't have folding equity when you call. That said with less than 4xbb it's now pretty much a crap shoot. So you either race the chip leader now or probably push into his bb when it's folded to you on the co on the next hand. Personally I probably race now if I really have a solid read that he doesn't have a pair here because of the overlay of the small and big blind.

[Crispy]

Easy fold. Why risk this coin flip. Find a better hand and you be the one pushing all in. Since you are on the button you should be able to find a better spot.

[JC_Saves]

well you did answer your own question. THere is a big difference being the raiser versus being the caller. It is all the difference needed on this hand.

If I were first to act I would push with that hand, and then I would put max pressure on everyone else. I think that odds are you are either way behind, or you are marginally behind, possibly you could be a very slight favorite.

with the blinds in 5 hands that gives you 5 hands to have a better situation to push them in, or to suck up the blinds if neccessary and have a few more hands.

Just because you have a pair does not make this an insta call from a UTG all-in.

[Exitonly]

I think i gamble here, you dont have much time to wait for more. Hands like these are the reason i have to read HOH2, so i'm probably wrong, but you probably have 53% or so chance of winning 22k chips.

Thuogh i guess you could wait until you're doing the pushing, but i still think i call.

with so few chips, this is the race you want, with chipleader pushing, it's unlikely the blinds are going to call behind you, so you're getting more money into the pot (which is significant to your stack) and still probably marginally ahead. Yea i definitely like a call here.

-Ray