Negreanu's tournament theory regarding big pots.

[Pensive Gerbil]

In an article in the current Card Player magazine, I was surprised that Negreanu advocates sometimes CALLING with a draw in a big pot with slightly inadequate effective odds. If I recall, he said this is a significant difference between tournament and ring game play; top tournament players know it is correct to chase big pots with inadequate odds when it only costs a small portion of their stack.

It seems to me that top tournament players (such as Negreanu) should be less willing to chase pots with marginal or inadequate odds than less skilled players. I am also skeptical about Negreanu's suggestion that you should be more willing to chase pots with inadequate odds when it will just cost a small portion of your stack. Might not it be better (or less bad) for a desperately short-stacked player (who is not close to making the money) to chase a big pot despite slightly inadequate odds?

-PG