Tournaments Poker Strategy Lessons

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• ICM Basics: Chips Are Not MoneyThe Independent Chip Model Converts Tournament Chips Into Shares Of The Prize Pool, And It Shows That Chips Are Not Worth Their Face Value: With Half The Chips In Play And Three Players Left, A 50/30/20 Payout Gives The Chip Leader 38.39% Of The Prize Pool, Not 50%.
• Bubble Play In Poker TournamentsOn The Bubble, Calling An All In Needs Much More Than 50% Equity Because Busting Costs Your Whole Prize Equity: In The Worked Example Below A Player With 3000 Chips Needs 72.9% Equity To Call The Chip Leader's Shove.
• Final Table ICM StrategyAt A Final Table Every Pay Jump Turns Chips Into Money Unevenly: In The Six Handed Example Below The Chip Leader Holds 40% Of The Chips But 24.45% Of The Prize Money Left, And The Shortest Stack Holds 4% Of The Chips And 10.99% Of The Money.
• M Ratio And Short Stack PlayM Measures How Many Orbits A Stack Can Survive Without Playing A Hand: A Stack Of 12,000 With Blinds Of 400 And 800 And An 800 Big Blind Ante Has An M Of 6, Which Is 15 Big Blinds And Short Enough To Play Push Or Fold.
• Bounty And PKO Tournament StrategyA Bounty Lowers The Equity You Need To Call An All In, Because Busting The Player Wins You The Bounty As Well As The Pot: Calling 20 Big Blinds Into 21.5 Needs 48.2% Equity Alone, And 38.8% If You Value The Bounty At 10 Big Blinds.
• Satellite Tournament StrategyIn A Satellite Every Seat Pays The Same, So Once You Have Enough Chips Extra Chips Are Worth Almost Nothing: In The Example Below The Chip Leader Already Has A 98.8% Chance Of A Seat And Would Need 78.6% Equity To Call An All In From The Third Stack.

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