"Jesus" called with A9s pre-flop

[KampfHase]

Hi there, [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

there was this tournament I saw on tv, lately. This one guy went all-in pre-flop with 55 (if I remember correctly; not higher than 77 though, for sure). It was folded to "Jesus" Ferguson who held A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. The guy had him covered but Jesus called after he gave it a long thinking.
Ferguson lost and was eliminated because he didn't hit.
Afterwards, being interviewed, he stated that he "was getting 2:1 for [his] money" and that he was "only a small dog against that hand".
Now, my question is: How did he come to this conclusion, and more important, why did he call?

I figure:
Jesus thought: "Well, this guy is a short stack and he would go all-in pre-flop (early position, no raise in front of him) with any pocket pair below and including JJ.
I'm getting 2:1 pot odds. My hand (A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]) is a 43,5% (according to PokerStove) dog against JJ-22 (56,5%).
Now, I'm getting 33% pot odds to 43,5% hand odds. If the hand odds % are bigger than the pot odds %, it's a correct call. So, call." [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Is that right, or just me thinkin' nonsense? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
Is this the wrong way to make pre-flop call descisions like this in a tourney? Additionally, does this way of making pre-flop descisions apply to cash game as well? I wouldn't call a pre-flop push with A9s in a cash game, that's for sure, except if I am stone-certain that villain holds 88 or below.

Thanks in advance [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[PantsOnFire]

You are correct in your thinking.

You simply figure out the range that villain is making his move and compare it to your hand. This thinking applies to any game, cash or tourney. An all-in sitution means there is no more betting so your calculations are final as is your decision.

However, it does usually only apply when you are the one closing the action. It can happen in other isolated circumstances such as when it is folded to you in the SB and BB is a short stack. You can look at your hand and figure out how much an all-in pot odds scenario would compare to how your hand does against a random hand.

[Harv72b]

Yes, your thinking is on the right track. But depending on just how short-stacked the opponent was when he pushed, his range is likely much higher than just any pocket pair, and will include many ace high hands (some worse than A9s) and numerous other hands which A9s is currently ahead of. And so all of that should also be factored into the equation.

[KampfHase]

Hey guys,

thanks for your replies.

I assume that "Jesus" thought of a lot more factors than I did in my description, and I suppose he can actually solve the equations necessary to come up with the right numbers.

So, priority now is, making my brain work like pokerstove. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]