Blinds are 20/40.
You have 900 chips for an M of 15. (No quite 1,000 but keeps to your M of 15)
If the SB shoves and gives you 3:1 that means he had 60 left in his stack after posting the SB.
Folder to SB with 60 in a 60 pot. SB shoves, making the pot 120.
BB with 900, and costs 40 to win the 120 on the table.
I usually call. Against a random hand you are a 1:2 dog. You are getting 3:1 on your call.
If this isn't near the bubble or anything, and I have been playing tight, I let this go. I want to keep my image and losing 40 chips ain't no thing compared to what people seeing me call with 7/2 will do to my image. (Most micro stakes players will only see that you were an idiot who called with 7/2, not realizing you had the odds to call with 7/2).
For "bug squashing" you call shorties with just about anything as long as you have 10X+ their stack. You do this when moving up in the payoff scale is important. Knocking people out generally isn't important until the bubble though.
I agree with alot of this ^, BUT I think when we make a call w atc's... it is actually good for our image - - > it'll keep other's from aggressing on our blinds.
OP, typically things you'd want to consider are: does making the call create such an impact to your stack that it'd greatly affect how you'll be able to play (ie. if you've got say 20bb's & it's 4bb to call, then you'll still be sitting with a re-steal-sized stack so I probably make the call here).
Let's say the call takes us from 30bb down to 18-23bb's... I probably don't bother with it (losing will effect my stack size to a degree where it's limiting stuff I can now do).
A guideline to go by for calling in BB
If you're getting 2:1 you can call with Top40%
2.2:1 - 'Trashy' but nice, ie. 74s
2.5:1 - atc (any two cards)
Old school thinking is that you make the call (regardless of odds) if it's <10% of your stack. Personally I don't go with those guidelines (old Harrington stuff).
..
as with alot of poker-related situations/scenarios... it's often situationally specific so it'd be difficult to 'put it in a box' make it 'black & white'... call/fold, etc.