pkrfce9;167872 wrotecouple of things here...
if you just call, you gotta call the turn too, in order to get your full 53% chance to win. factor that into your calculations. (you don't know how big the bet will be)
if you push, you have 2 ways to win. never negate the value of fold equity when you are drawing against a made but weak hand.
pot odds are not the greatest thing since sliced bread in a tourney.
sure, 2pr pretty much calls every time here but that is one of the best hands you can expect to be against when you have T8s. lots of times you may be up against TPWK, overpair, mid pair, some other draw etc. these hands are hard pressed to call here.
I realize you have to call the turn too to get the full 54%. Otherwise it's about 30% on the turn.
I also do realize that pot odds don't always apply in a tournament. I often go against pot odds in hopes of knocking some people out. But, that's only if I am the huge stack at the table. This I usually do later in the tournament when people are playing a bit tigheter as well.
Also, I sometimes fold some hands when I can call if I am short stacked and wait for a better opportunity. However, if I was short stacked, this would be a good opportunity in my mind.
Either way, it really doesn't matter what hand you are up against. If they have bottom pair with bottom kicker and call you, you could lose here.
I just don't see a point in pushing this hand when, if you lose, you will give away 1/3 of your stack this early in the tournament and you will be pretty much tied for the big stack. Or, you can lose a little by using pot odds, if you lose. You only have to call two bets. If you win, you have the chance to double up against someone with two pairs, or you can gain about 1500 more, like in this situation, and make someone a short stack and continue with the large stack. Still, in option two you are left standing as the large stack, no matter what happens.
In my opinion, you are in much better position to win the tournament in every case for option two.
If it was this early in the tournament, I will use pot odds and minimize my losses. Especially because people are usually a lot more loose at the beginning of a tournament and an all-in call is likely to happen. I'm assuming the reason why this guy was the chip leader is because he's one of those donks that gets lucky at the beginning by calling some all-in's and beating hands like an AKsooted flopped flush draw with pocket 4's.
So, I agree that sometimes pot odds aren't the best thing since sliced bread in a tourney, as you put it, but at the beginning they should for sure be used more to avoid massive chip losses.
I have also been winning a lot more when using pot odds and a bit less donkgression. Like I'm talking placing in the money about 4 out of every 10 tournaments to 7 or 8 out of every 10 tournaments now, and my frequency of being first has increased as well. When I place in the money, I am usually first.
Either way, the main difference in my strategy is the fact that I actually sit at the table with a calculator and use pot odds when calling hands like this.