progressFinal table ICM and payout jumps
Every spot you move up is worth real money, and that changes which hands you can play.
At a final table the prizes grow quickly from ninth place to first. The chip count that matters is not the number on the table, it is the money behind it. Here is an example with 9 players and payouts of 28, 19, 13, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 percent of the prize pool:
| Seat | Stack | Share of chips | ICM equity | Equity minus chip share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3000 | 23.1% | 15.8% | -7.3 |
| 2 | 2500 | 19.2% | 14.7% | -4.6 |
| 3 | 2000 | 15.4% | 13.4% | -2.0 |
| 4 | 1600 | 12.3% | 12.2% | -0.2 |
| 5 | 1300 | 10% | 11.1% | +1.1 |
| 6 | 1000 | 7.7% | 10.0% | +2.3 |
| 7 | 800 | 6.2% | 9.1% | +2.9 |
| 8 | 500 | 3.8% | 7.6% | +3.7 |
| 9 | 300 | 2.3% | 6.3% | +4.0 |
The biggest stack is worth less than its share of chips, and the smallest is worth more. The gap is large: the shortest stack holds 2.3% of the chips and is worth 6.3% of the prize pool, which is 2.7 times its chip share.
Payout jumps
A payout jump is the difference between two neighbouring prizes. The jump from 9th (4%) to 8th (5%) is 1 point, and from 2nd (19%) to 1st (28%) it is 9 points. The larger the jump ahead, the more a player should avoid risk that could cost him a place. The effect is strongest for stacks that are in danger of busting and for medium stacks facing bigger ones.
Practical consequences
- Calling all-ins needs more equity than pot odds say. See bubble factor.
- Shoving into short stacks from the big stack is more attractive than shoving into other big stacks.
- Short stacks should still shove, but their ranges against bigger stacks differ from chip EV.
- Wide opens against the big blind should be adjusted by position and by the stack of the big blind.
Our app has an ICM training mode for a nine-handed final table where the whole line is precomputed, and the ICM calculator works for any structure.
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Related guides
Questions
What is a payout jump?
The extra prize you earn by finishing one place higher.
Do I need ICM at a final table?
Yes. It changes how much equity you need to call all-ins and how wide you can shove.
Does ICM apply to the first stage of a tournament?
Only weakly. Early on the number of players left is far from the money, so chips are worth close to their chip-EV value.
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progressGTO guides use our own solution book (v13, 8-max tournaments with ante, chip EV): an approximation of equilibrium with a modelled postflop, not an exact solution. Numbers are computed from the book and from the exact ICM model.
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