Cooperation Play

[slapdash]

In Harrington on Holdem II, he talks briefly about what he calls "cooperation play", whereby in the latter stages of tournaments, two or more players cooperate to eliminate a short stack. In the example he gives, there are 6 players left, the blinds are $3000/$6000, and you're big blind with 9-7 offsuit and a healthy stack. Second to act, a short stack goes all-in for $30,000, and one other player (not short-stacked) calls. Everybody else folds to you. With the antes, there is now $72,000 in the pot, and you need to put in another $24,000 to call. He recommends calling, and checking down to the river, to maximize the chance of eliminating the short stack. Now, I'm not saying this is wrong, but I'm not entirely convinced by the reasoning, and I was wondering if anybody could convince me? Here are my thoughts about the situation: The short stack could have a wide range of hands (especially if he's read Harrington), but on average his hand will be better than yours, because a random hand is. But the caller probably has a decent hand. I agree that calling and checking down to the river maximizes the chance of immediately eliminating the short stack. But (ignoring split pots), the only time it makes a difference to whether he's eliminated is when you win, he's second and the other caller is third, which is probably the least likely finishing order. But if you call and the short stack wins the hand, which I'd guess is more than twice as likely as your call helping to eliminate him, then you've given him an extra $24,000 chips, which decreases the chance of getting rid of him later. Is it clear that the increased chance of getting rid of him immediately compensates for the decreased chance of getting rid of him later? And getting rid of him is not the only thing you have to worry about. By calling, you almost certainly are making a negative EV decision, since the other caller is almost certainly beating you pre-flop. And if the other caller hasn't read the script, and makes a decent sized bet after the flop, you're going to have to fold most of the time and lose your $24,000, even if you flop a straight draw, which is the most likely good flop for you. Any thoughts?

[PokerBarney]

Re: Cooperation Play In the later stages of the tourney when prize money increases rapidly with every player out, I would agree with this strategy. The chance of getting rid of another player and doubling the next prize is well worth that extra 24,000 - which is only a few blinds. If you don't hit the flop you can fold if your other live opponent is betting, happy in the knowledge that if they are betting in this position, they've probably got something that could take on the short stack. Of course, early on the tourney (out of the money) I would happily let the caller take him out (or not, as the case may be), unless it was very cheap for me to see the flop - e.g. blinds of 300 and 600, shortie goes in for 1,200 with 1 caller means a pot of ~3,500 with antes, so only another 600 for me to see the flop.. with a price that good and the chance to take out two players if you flop that straight, I think it's worth it. Of course, that's not taking into account the styles of the two players.. if they're incredibly loose then I'd be more likely to see a flop, if not I probably wouldn't bother.