[AaronBrown]

You always need a reason to call, if you're uncertain, raise or fold.

You have given one of the two good reasons to call. You think you're behind, so every new dollar you put in the pot is -EV. But there is enough money already in the pot to make calling +EV.

However, there is another key assumption, that the other player is bad. In that case, there's no point in being deceptive, and little risk you'll get in a bad situation later. So go ahead and call to see what happens.

If the entire game is bad (and if this is a live cash game) another reason to call is to encourage bad play from everyone. There's no easier money in the world than playing all night with people who make small bets and call big ones. You don't mind losing most of the pots, and you're giving the other players action and the fun of winning pots with their good hands. You get money, they get entertainment. Everyone's happy. If you start folding to small bets so they don't get to enjoy their good hands, and making big raises so they have to make tough decisions, you'll teach them better poker or drive them away.

With a good player, it's a different situation (although a good player will seldom make a pointless raise, one that's too small to make it +EV for any hand to fold; if one does, it's a mind game, not a strategy). By calling the mini-raise you learn nothing about the other hand, and by calling it with a marginal hand, you describe your hand. With a good player, that almost certainly two bad ideas. That doesn't mean you never call, just that you make sure you mix up your play. Given that there's not much EV here anyway, it's a good hand to play strategically rather than for EV.