Originally Posted by Wallace

I really like this sentence! Toss out all that math % X % BS and just see the overall value. Putting 700 into a pot and having someone go ballistic to 14K should almost always warrant a fold unless you're up against a total maniac or a player on severe tilt from losing his ass on the previous hand.

If you can beat the game then why take big pre-flop risks? Makes no sense at all.

tbh, i'm not sure you could have missed the point of my post any more.

you seem confused about what it means to beat the game. the player who makes decisions that will result in him increasing his chipstack over the very longest term is beating the game. when someone goes allin with a range that you have 43% equity against, and pot odds dictate that you need at least 40% equity to make a breakeven call and then you call, YOU ARE WINNING. THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WINNING PLAYER.

it doesnt make any sense to just toss out "all that math % X % BS." there are always qualitative arguments for any action (fold, call, raise) in any situation. sometimes it's pretty much impossible to work out the numbers behind the hand and determine what's absolutely the right play. there are just too many factors that go into postflop play to turn complicated theoretical questions into math problems. all-in questions, on the other hand - especially preflop ones - are mostly math. im sorry if you dont like this, but that's just the way it is. you use everything you know about your opponent to estimate a range, and then calculate your equity vs that range. then if you're getting the right pot odds, you call. if you're not, you fold. THAT IS HOW TO WIN

the only thing i meant by my sentence that you seem to have taken as a complete strategy blueprint is that when the equity/pot odds are close enough that you're basically just guessing at the right play, future expectation in a tournament comes into play. if folding to a shove and calling a shove both have an expected chip gain value of exactly zero, it is better to take the lower variance route just because there's expected value in being able to continue in the tournament - assuming you have an edge vs. the remaining field.