Double-Up Secrets #6

I don't have a clever name for this one. You could file it under "collusion", or one of the entries about the small stacks being the enemy, or we could just call it "Use your frellin' head!"

Here's the situation. Small stack moves all-in for less than 2BB. SB, who has him well covered, calls. The BB, who has about three times as many chips as the next closest stack and would in no way miss the chips, folds. What kind of cards can you possibly have that you fold on a chance to force out the final player when you're getting better than 5:1 on your money? 72o is only giving 8:1 against AA. AKs vs 32o is only 3:2 in favor of AK.

Admittedly, the pot odds are somewhat irrelevant at this point and maybe the guy figured he'd just be donating to the small stack, but there is already one caller. This is going to the showdown and two players vs one greatly increases the odds of the one player losing.

If a player moves all-in with less than 2BB and you've got three times as many chips as the next closest player and you clearly won't miss the 2BB, you call. There's nothing to think about here. It doesn't matter what your cards are. You call. End of story.

If you fold and the small stack wins, he gets one or two BB less than he would have if you called. In this case the difference is less than 1BB. If you call and the small stack wins, he gets one or two BB more than he would have if you folded. Neither of these results is likely to make a huge difference in the overall outcome for you. If you call and win, the small stack is out and you're one player closer to winning the prize.

Use your heads out there, people.