Final Table ICM Strategy
At 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.
Tournaments Lesson From Smarter.Poker, Updated
The Example Table
The Table Below Is A Worked Example, Not A Real Tournament: Six Players With 40, 25, 15, 10, 6, 4 Thousand Chips, And A Payout Ladder Of 35, 22, 15, 11, 9, 8 Percent Of The Remaining Prize Money For First Through Sixth. Every Figure Is Computed With The Malmuth-Harville Model.
| Seat | Chips | Chip Share | Prize Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | 40k | 40% | 24.45% |
| Player 2 | 25k | 25% | 20.62% |
| Player 3 | 15k | 15% | 16.99% |
| Player 4 | 10k | 10% | 14.63% |
| Player 5 | 6k | 6% | 12.33% |
| Player 6 | 4k | 4% | 10.99% |
Reading The Table
Every Player Finishes Sixth Or Better, So The Bottom Of The Ladder Is Already Locked In And Even The Shortest Stack Is Guaranteed A Share Of It. That Floor Is Why The Short Stacks Are Worth More Than Their Chips And The Chip Leader Is Worth Less. The Gap Grows As The Ladder Gets Flatter And Shrinks As It Gets Steeper Toward First Place.
This Is Why Final Tables Reward Patience From Medium Stacks. Each Time A Shorter Stack Busts, Everyone Left Moves Up A Pay Jump Without Risking A Chip. A Medium Stack That Gambles Against The Leader Can Lose All Of That For A Gain That ICM Says Is Modest.
How To Play Each Stack
The Chip Leader Should Pressure The Stacks It Covers, Especially The Medium Stacks, Which Cannot Call Without Large Risk. It Should Avoid Marginal Spots Against The Second Biggest Stack, The One Player Who Can Take A Large Share Of Its Chips Back.
Medium Stacks Should Tighten Their Calls And Look For Opens And Three Bet Shoves Against Players Who Cannot Easily Call. The Shortest Stacks Should Take Their Best Spots Before The Blinds Erode Them, Because A Stack That Is Too Small To Make Anyone Fold Loses The Fold Equity It Needs To Survive.
Deals Are Common At Final Tables And ICM Is Often Used To Price Them. An ICM Based Deal Pays Each Player Their Equity From A Table Like The One Above, Which Is Fair To The Model But Ignores Skill, So A Stronger Player May Reasonably Ask For More Than ICM Gives Them.
Keep Learning
- ICM Basics: Chips Are Not Money
- Bubble Play In Poker Tournaments
- M Ratio And Short Stack Play
- Bounty And PKO Tournament Strategy
Poker Terms In This Lesson
Practise It On Smarter.Poker
The Answer Above Is Complete. When You Want To Drill It, These Are The Matching Training Tools.
- Play Final Table ICM The Training Game For This Lesson.
- Open The ICM Calculator
- Open Jarvis Training Insights Jarvis Explains Your Training Decisions In Words.
Free To Play. 18+. No Real Money Gambling. Chips And Diamonds Have No Cash Value.