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.
| Player | Stack | Share of chips | ICM value | Share of prizes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | 5,000 | 50.0% | 37.78 | 37.8% |
| Player 2 | 3,000 | 30.0% | 31.29 | 31.3% |
| Player 3 | 1,500 | 15.0% | 22.56 | 22.6% |
| Player 4 | 500 | 5.0% | 8.37 | 8.4% |
What ICM does
In a tournament chips are not money. Doubling your stack does not double what it is worth, because first place does not pay the whole prize pool.
The Independent Chip Model estimates the chance that each stack finishes in each paid place, using the stack sizes, and adds up the prize money. Compare the two columns: short stacks are worth more than their chip share, and big stacks less.
What it leaves out
ICM looks only at stack sizes. It does not know who is in the blinds next, who plays well, or how many hands are left before the next pay jump.
Questions
- What does ICM stand for?
- Independent Chip Model. It converts tournament chip stacks into their expected share of the prize pool.
- Why is a chip lead worth less than its share of the chips?
- Because the winner does not take the whole prize pool. The chips you win are worth less than the chips you risk losing.
More tools
Practise the decisions themselves in the trainer: ten hands at a time, with the answer and the reason.