Poker tournaments can be extremely artificial. Take the following scenario: You hold A¨Aª and have only 1.000 left in chips last in hand. There are only three of you left and the prizes are £5000, £3000, £2000. The other two players each have 99,500 chips. They each go all in before you ever make a move.

It is mathematically correct to pass. You are big odds on to win the pot, but so what? You will still only have 3,000 in chips. The winner of the side pot will have 197,000 in chips. It will still be an up mountain battle. But you will almost certainly come second, if you pass. Risking £1000 for a tiny chance of winning a further £2000 is a poor percentage play.