ICM
ICM, the Independent Chip Model, converts tournament chip stacks into their expected share of the prize pool.
In a tournament chips are not money: doubling your stack does not double its value, because first place does not pay everything. ICM makes the chips you risk worth more than the chips you can win.
The effect is strongest near the money and at the final table, where calling all-in needs more equity than pot odds alone suggest.
Work it out
ICM calculator: Enter the chip stacks and the payouts. The calculator shows what each stack is worth in prize money under the Independent Chip Model.
Related terms
Practise decisions like this in the trainer: ten hands at a time, with the answer and the reason.