final table decision

[Ross]

Final table 5 players NLHE, I'm chip leader with about 55k 2 other players have about 30k one has about 10k and the short stack has 4k blinds are 1k & 2k.

I'm in the SB the short stack is UTG and raises all in. The other 2 players fold, I have 94 off which I fold the BB (30k stack) calls with KQ. Short stack wins with A6. after the hand the BB says "I would have thought you would have called with anything"

How good or bad of a hand would you require to call at this point or is it just a case of calling blind to try to knock the short stack out?

Regards


Ross

[Greg (FossilMan)]

From one point of view, you can call with anything. Especially if you know the BB, and know they are likely to check it to the river unless they make a very big hand. In that case, you will put in 3K to win 9K, and while 94o might be more than a 3:1 dog here, it won't ever be much worse than that unless one of them has an overpair.

One thing going against the call is if you think the BB might raise preflop, or bet postflop without having a big hand. In that case, 3:1 probably isn't enough of a payoff to go with 94o.

By another view, you should fold or reraise. If I'm the chip leader, I find that it can often be beneficial for the game to remain multi-handed. If the medium stacks are backing down from my raises because they are waiting for the short stacks to go broke, and the short stacks are backing down from my raises hoping a medium stack will get into it with me, then I can steal a LOT of blinds/antes at this stage. The same can be true when you're the big stack and there are multiple medium stacks, but in that spot the medium stacks aren't usually so inclined to back down, because they fear getting blinded away. However, when there is at least one very short stack, the medium stacks will often play very cautiously rather than risk going broke before that short-stack gets blinded off.

In such a spot, you might want to take slightly the worse of it in a single pot to increase the odds of the short-stack surviving longer.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)