Chip stacks
Prizes still to be paid
What ICM is
ICM stands for Independent Chip Model. In a cash game a chip is worth its face value. In a tournament it is not, because you cannot cash out and the prizes are fixed. Win every chip in play and you still only collect first prize. ICM converts each stack into its fair share of the remaining prize money.
How it works
The model assumes your chance of finishing first equals your share of the chips. It then works out everyone's chance of second among those left, then third, and so on, and multiplies each chance by the prize for that place. The method is called Malmuth-Harville, after the people who applied it to poker.
In the example loaded above, the chip leader holds 50% of the chips but only 38.4% of the money. The short stack holds 20% of the chips and 28.9% of the money. That gap is the whole point of ICM: chips you lose cost more than chips you win are worth.
Using it for a deal
At a final table, players often agree to split the remaining prize money. An ICM deal pays each player the figure in the "ICM value" column. A chip-chop deal, the last column, pays by share of chips. Chip chops favour the big stack, sometimes paying more than first prize, which is why most rooms and most short stacks prefer ICM.
Using it for decisions
Near the bubble or a pay jump, compare your ICM value now with your value if you call and win, and if you call and lose. You will find you need to be a bigger favourite than pot odds suggest, because busting costs you prize money that folding would have kept.
What ICM leaves out
It ignores skill, position, who has the blinds next and how big the blinds are. A strong player with a short stack is worth more than the number shown, and a stack about to be hit by the blinds is worth less. Treat the result as a starting point.
Want somewhere to use this? See which sites take players in your state.
Common questions
What does ICM stand for?
Independent Chip Model. It is a way of converting tournament chip stacks into their value in prize money.
How is ICM calculated?
Each player's chance of finishing first is taken as their share of the chips. The same step is repeated for each remaining place among the players left, and the chances are multiplied by the prizes.
What is the difference between an ICM deal and a chip chop?
A chip chop splits the prize money by share of chips. An ICM deal splits it by each stack's modelled value, which gives short stacks more and big stacks less.
How many players can I enter?
Up to ten.