Adam Freidman...

[The Big Easy]

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You are comparing a 5k buy in to a $500 buy in. The 5k buy in, 9th got 12K, so everyone throwing in $500 wasnt asking for much. A short stack chiming in, in a $500 tourney asking that money be taken away from first just to pay 13th is quite different. If he had asked that each player throw in $40 to cover the buy in for the 13th place person, then it would be the same thing. Dont compare apples to oranges.

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I agree that the situations are different, but I was focusing on this paragraph:

"I cannot think of a single decent tournament player in the world who would have done anything different from what Ken did. Having the chip lead while the tournament is “on the bubble” is a truly dominating position, and he would have been a fool to voluntarily give up that position by accepting the deal and removing the bubble. In fact, I would guess that he built his massive chip lead, at least in part, by correctly picking on the short stacks during the half-hour that the tournament was at 13 players. All he had to do was stay selectively aggressive while everyone else was struggling just to survive."

If I have a chip lead, I am not making a save to play an extra place, and I am sure that many top pros would say the same thing. Why give up the +EV?