Enlighten me

Hello everyone,

this will be my first post, so please be gentle with me.
I have a question about a hand that I played yesterday, where my all-in got called. This is not a bad beat moaning, I'm more interested in if there is a rationale behind the call that have missed.

Unfortunately I don't have the hand history here at work, but I can give you a pretty good picture from recall.

It's a small buyin tournament at Stars, 5 min before the third break. We're all in the money, 150 left out of 2600 and I have a slightly above average stack sitting in 50th.

It's the first hand with higher blinds (1600 I believe), and we have a new guy at the table.

I'm in the cutoff with 8 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and I have roughly T25K

New guy in middle position with rougly T50K opens with 3xBB.

Now here I get a feeling he's on a steal. I like to do that myself, when the blinds have just been raised or I've just arrived at the table - I'll take a stab with a half decent hand. Plus the BB is in sitout.

I think a while, then I push. If he really has a hand, then so be it - my eights are still not dead in the water. It's really late and for it to be worth my while to pull an all-nighter, I will very much want to double up.

Everyone folds around to him, and he calls without a second of hesitation. I'm preparing to see AA or KK or AK.

He has 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. That's the part I dont understand. Is this an automatic call, was he gambling or on a gut feeling?

With the flop J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] I knew he would river me. But I was wrong. The 7 fell on the turn already.

Anyway, as I said this is not whining about the beat just wondering about the logic behind the call.

Any input appreciated.
Cheers