ICM — the Independent Chip Model — turns tournament chip stacks into prize money. A stack is not worth its chip count: the leader's chips are worth less each, the short stack's are worth more. Enter the stacks and the payouts to see what every seat is really playing for.
Total 100%. The figures are read as ratios, so the whole prize money is always split.
| Player | Chips | Chips % | ICM value | vs chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | 12,000 | 33.3% | 310.14 | −2.3% |
| Player 2 | 12,000 | 33.3% | 310.14 | −2.3% |
| Player 3 | 9,000 | 25% | 269.16 | +1.9% |
| Player 4 | 3,000 | 8.3% | 110.56 | +2.7% |
The biggest stack holds 33.3% of the chips but only 31% of the prize money. The shortest holds 8.3% of the chips and 11.1% of the money — each of its chips is worth 1.33 times as much.
ICM answers one question: if the tournament stopped right now, what is each stack worth in money? It assumes a player's chance of finishing first equals that player's share of the chips in play. Award first place on those odds, remove the winner, and repeat for second, third, and on down the ladder.
That is the Malmuth-Harville model, and it is what almost every ICM calculator, chop negotiation and final-table solver runs on. It knows nothing about skill, position or blind level: the only inputs are chip counts and the prize structure.
What comes out is the fair split of the prize money still on the table — the same number a final table uses to agree a deal. That is why an ICM calculator and a chop calculator are one tool.
Four players left with 12,000 / 12,000 / 9,000 / 3,000 chips and 1,000 in prize money. The winner-take-all column is what each stack would be worth if first place took everything — which is exactly its chip share. The ICM column prices the same stacks on a 50/30/20 ladder.
| Stack | Chips % | Winner-take-all | ICM (50/30/20) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,000 | 33.3% | 333.33 | 310.14 | −23.19 |
| 12,000 | 33.3% | 333.33 | 310.14 | −23.19 |
| 9,000 | 25.0% | 250.00 | 269.16 | +19.16 |
| 3,000 | 8.3% | 83.33 | 110.56 | +27.22 |
Each big stack gives up 23 of the 1,000; the 3,000 stack gains 27, a third more than its chips are worth. That gap is the whole of ICM, and it is why a short stack can get its chips in far wider than the leader can.
Chip EV asks whether a play wins chips. ICM asks whether it wins money. When the winner takes everything the two are the same calculation. The moment a second place pays, they separate — and the bigger the jump between payouts, the wider they separate.
The practical rule falls straight out of the table above: the chips you win are worth less than the chips you risk. That makes calling off your tournament life more expensive than chip EV suggests, so calling ranges tighten hard near a pay jump.
Shoving ranges tighten much less, because a shove can win the pot with no showdown at all, and fold equity is untouched by ICM. That is why the pressure runs one way — from the covering stack onto the stacks that cannot afford to bust.
The trainer's ICM section runs on exactly these numbers: four players left, a real pay ladder, and a decision chip EV gets wrong. Every answer is verified by the same engine behind this calculator.
ICM, the Independent Chip Model, converts tournament chip stacks into prize money. It assumes each player's chance of finishing first is that player's share of the chips, then works down the payout ladder. It is how a chop is priced, and why big stacks are worth less per chip than short ones.
Take each player's chips as a share of all chips in play — that is their chance of winning outright. Award first prize on those odds, remove that player, and run the same calculation again for second place, then third, until the ladder runs out. Adding the branches up gives each stack its expected prize money.
Chip EV counts chips, ICM counts money. They agree only when the winner takes everything. On any real payout ladder the chips you win are worth less than the chips you risk, so ICM makes calls tighter than chip EV does — most sharply on the bubble and at a pay jump.
Yes. An ICM chop is exactly this calculation: enter the stacks and the prize money still to be awarded, and each player's ICM value is their share of a fair deal. Final tables usually negotiate around those numbers rather than accepting them to the cent.
Yes — free, no signup, nothing to install. It runs entirely in your browser, takes up to nine stacks and accepts any payout structure you type in.