fwiw, my criticism of xas taking a likely 53/47 or so edge was that he still had over 20 big blinds. obv with shorter stack:blinds ratio, taking that crooked coinflip becomes a much more appealing option (i.e., there is less chance to gain chips strategically).


also, i'd like to give brief example of what "strategic value" is. let me state that this is an incredibly simple example and is not necessarily likely to happen, but the extremeness of this case is simply used to make the point.

let's say xas had three really weak-tight players behind him. specifically, they'll only call/push a standard pfr with AA, KK, or AK. furthermore, the other players at the table are relatively tight (not as tight as the others, but still tight). as such, xas is getting first-in vig quite often.

ok, the stage is set. xas is stealing blinds like crazy, and he can safely fold if he's encounters any aggression. then xas gets QQ in LP. he raises and one of the blinds comes over the top and accidentally shows his cards. let's say that the math says that xas is a 53/47 favorite in terms of pot odds. should he call? i'd say that he shouldn't call since he will be able to steal his way to a bigger stack relatively risk-free. specifically, he'll be able to steal an amount of chips worth much more than his 53/47 edge will be worth (usu. a big blind or two at best).

i realize that this example is an mtt players dream and is not quite realistic, but it demonstrates the point that chips have strategic value that can possibly exceed the value of a small mathematical edge.