ICM Poker Explained: Why a Chip Is Not Always Worth a Chip
ICM in poker (the Independent Chip Model) turns tournament stacks into a share of the prize pool. A chip is not always worth a chip: with 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 chips and prizes of 50, 30 and 20, the biggest stack has 50% of the chips but 38.4% of the prize pool, the shortest 20% of the chips but 28.9%. So doubling your stack does not double your share.
Work out the ICM of your stacks
Enter the stacks of 3 to 6 players and the prizes of the paid places: each line gives that player's share of the prize pool.
Chips and prize pool with four players
Stacks of 4,000, 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 chips, three paid places worth 50, 30 and 20:
| Player | Share of the chips | Share of the prize pool |
|---|---|---|
| 4,000 chips | 40% | 33.6% |
| 3,000 chips | 30% | 29.5% |
| 2,000 chips | 20% | 23.6% |
| 1,000 chips | 10% | 13.3% |
Big stacks are worth less than their share of the chips and short stacks more: the shortest stack can finish in the money without winning a single chip.
Doubling your stack does not double your share
With 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 chips and prizes of 50, 30 and 20, the shortest stack doubles by taking 2,000 chips from the biggest:
| Player | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Player 1 (5,000 → 3,000) | 38.4% | 32.3% |
| Player 2 (3,000) | 32.8% | 32.3% |
| Player 3 (2,000 → 4,000) | 28.9% | 35.4% |
Player 3 doubles their chips but their share of the prize pool rises by less than a quarter. Player 2, who played no hand, loses a little too.
The payout structure changes everything
Same stacks (5,000, 3,000, 2,000), three ways to pay:
| Prizes | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 to the winner | 50% | 30% | 20% |
| 65 and 35 | 44.4% | 32.6% | 23% |
| 50, 30 and 20 | 38.4% | 32.8% | 28.9% |
The flatter the prizes, the closer the shares: the biggest stack loses value and the shortest gains it.
How the calculation works
ICM follows the Malmuth-Harville model. For player 3, with 2,000 chips out of 10,000:
- First place: their share of the chips, 20%.
- Second place: if another player finishes first, player 3 takes their share of the chips left. With player 1 first (50%), they have 2,000 out of 5,000; with player 2 first (30%), 2,000 out of 7,000. In total, 28.6%.
- Third place: the rest, 51.4%.
Their share is 50 × 20% + 30 × 28.6% + 20 × 51.4%, which is 28.9% of the prize pool.
Keep going
- Managing the money behind your tournaments: bankroll management.
- The calculation behind a call: pot odds.
- The value of a decision in chips: expected value.
- The coinflips of an all‑in: pair vs overcards.
- The final heads-up: heads-up poker strategy.
- One spot every day: the daily poker puzzle.
- ICM at work one place from the money: bubble strategy.
- ICM with six players and real pay jumps: final table strategy.
- What is really at stake against a shorter stack: the effective stack.
- What changes between the two formats: cash game vs tournament.
- Calling an all‑in, in chips and then with ICM: calling all‑ins in tournaments.
- Heads-up shoving ranges, before ICM: the push fold chart.
- When every seat pays the same: satellite poker strategy.
For a practice plan covering every stage of a tournament, see our MTT poker trainer.
Sources
- Every share is computed with the Malmuth-Harville model (D. Harville, "Assigning probabilities to the outcomes of multi-entry competitions", 1973) by the app's ICM module, checked on October 11, 2026.