Don't analyze short stack calls, when an opponent is forced to call due to a shorter stack going all in normally in a tournament, as a hand of any importance for understanding how an opponent thinks.
For the desperation shover, the one with the short stack trying to double up or go home, it doesn't mean much because they are forced by the pot odds to call versus folding and the remaining big blinds. It's a mathematical reality - either you double up or you won't survive long enough to make the money either way.
For the short stack calling person - most likely the big blind with pot odds to call and a weak hand - because they are simply calling to make sure the short stack doesn't get the chips with no resistance. If I am holding 87 off suit and I am getting 5:1 on a call I am calling that short stack even though my hand might be a dominated 30% or even 20% hand. It's 20% chance to take out a player with good pot odds. If you get lucky then he's out. If you don't he's just doubled up to a few big blinds. It's a hand that plays itself.
But as a data point to decide what either player is, or how they play, it is meaningless. Since it is an automatic play for both players, it is nothing significant.
Poker wisdom, stories, and anything that runs into my mind. I used to talk tactics, but now I use tactical thinking applied to poker.
