How much is the biggest stack worth in ICM with 6 players left?

Seat 1 holds 15,000 chips, 30.0% of the chips in play, and is worth 26.9% of the prize pool when 3 places pay 50/30/20 percent. That is -3.10 points against its chip share.

What equity does the smallest stack need to call the biggest stack's all-in?

57.7%. In chips alone the call breaks even at 50%, but the bubble factor of 1.36 raises the requirement because losing costs the smallest stack 11.55% of the prize pool.

Why is ICM equity different from chip share?

Because the prize pool is paid by place, not by chips. Doubling a stack does not double its payout, so each extra chip is worth less than the one before it. Here the biggest stack is worth 26.9% of the prize pool for 30.0% of the chips.

ICM: Two big stacks, 6 Players, 3 Paid

With 6 players left and 3 paid (50/30/20 percent), the biggest stack of 15,000 chips holds 30.0% of the chips but is worth 26.9% of the prize pool. The smallest, 5,000 chips, holds 10.0% and is worth 11.5%.

How much is each stack worth with 6 players left?

50,000 chips are in play in the two big stacks pattern, where two players hold 15,000 chips each and the rest hold 5,000 each. The prize pool pays three places paid, 50, 30 and 20 percent, and the table converts each seat's chips into prize equity.

Chips and prize equity with 6 players left, payouts 50/30/20 percent
Seat	Chips	Share of chips	ICM equity	ICM minus chips
Seat 1	15,000	30.00%	26.90%	-3.10 points
Seat 2	15,000	30.00%	26.90%	-3.10 points
Seat 3	5,000	10.00%	11.55%	+1.55 points
Seat 4	5,000	10.00%	11.55%	+1.55 points
Seat 5	5,000	10.00%	11.55%	+1.55 points
Seat 6	5,000	10.00%	11.55%	+1.55 points

Share of the chips against share of the prize pool

Seat 1Chips 30.0%Prize 26.9%
Seat 2Chips 30.0%Prize 26.9%
Seat 3Chips 10.0%Prize 11.5%
Seat 4Chips 10.0%Prize 11.5%
Seat 5Chips 10.0%Prize 11.5%
Seat 6Chips 10.0%Prize 11.5%

Chips and prize money do not trade one for one. The biggest loss against chip share is 3.10 points for Seat 2, and the biggest gain is 1.55 points for Seat 3.

How often does each seat finish in the money?

ICM gets each equity from the chance of finishing in every place. The Seat 6 stack (5,000 chips) is paid 36.8% of the time, and the Seat 1 stack (15,000 chips) is paid 76.4% of the time.

Chance of finishing in each place
Seat	First	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Sixth	Paid
Seat 1	30.00%	26.19%	20.24%	13.57%	7.38%	2.62%	76.43%
Seat 2	30.00%	26.19%	20.24%	13.57%	7.38%	2.62%	76.43%
Seat 3	10.00%	11.90%	14.88%	18.21%	21.31%	23.69%	36.79%
Seat 4	10.00%	11.90%	14.88%	18.21%	21.31%	23.69%	36.79%
Seat 5	10.00%	11.90%	14.88%	18.21%	21.31%	23.69%	36.79%
Seat 6	10.00%	11.90%	14.88%	18.21%	21.31%	23.69%	36.79%

Where each seat's prize equity comes from, in points of the prize pool
Seat	From first	From second	From third	Total
Seat 1	15.00	7.86	4.05	26.90%
Seat 2	15.00	7.86	4.05	26.90%
Seat 3	5.00	3.57	2.98	11.55%
Seat 4	5.00	3.57	2.98	11.55%
Seat 5	5.00	3.57	2.98	11.55%
Seat 6	5.00	3.57	2.98	11.55%

What is the bubble factor for each seat with 6 players left?

Every call has a bubble factor, the equity lost on a loss over the equity gained on a win. The largest at this table is 2.05 with Seat 1 facing Seat 2; the smallest is 1.16 with Seat 1 facing Seat 3.

Bubble factor when the row seat calls an all-in from the column seat
Seat	vs Seat 1	vs Seat 2	vs Seat 3	vs Seat 4	vs Seat 5	vs Seat 6
Seat 1	none	2.05	1.16	1.16	1.16	1.16
Seat 2	2.05	none	1.16	1.16	1.16	1.16
Seat 3	1.36	1.36	none	1.20	1.20	1.20
Seat 4	1.36	1.36	1.20	none	1.20	1.20
Seat 5	1.36	1.36	1.20	1.20	none	1.20
Seat 6	1.36	1.36	1.20	1.20	1.20	none

How much equity does a call need?

When the smallest stack (Seat 6) calls an all-in from the biggest (Seat 1), the bubble factor is 1.36. A call that needs 50% in chips needs 57.7% once prize money counts, which is 7.7 points more. The same all-in the other way, with the biggest stack calling the smallest, has a bubble factor of 1.16 and needs 53.6%, 3.6 points over the chip figure. The smaller stack is the one that pays the larger ICM premium, because losing the all-in costs it 11.55% of the prize pool and winning adds 8.48%.

Break-even equity for two all-in calls, risking and winning the same chips
Call	All-in (chips)	Bubble factor	Chip break-even	ICM break-even	Equity now	Equity if win	Equity if lose
Smallest stack calls biggest	5,000	1.3624	50.0%	57.7%	11.55%	20.02%	0.00%
Biggest stack calls smallest	5,000	1.1560	50.0%	53.6%	26.90%	32.86%	20.02%

Where can I compare other stack patterns?

Open a sibling to see how the same payouts value a different split of the chips. For your own stacks and payouts, use the ICM calculator.

How was this ICM table computed?

Under the Malmuth-Harville model a stack wins first place in proportion to its chips, then the next place is awarded among the rest in the same proportion, and so on. Equity adds up the payout of each place weighted by those chances. For the bubble factor, a player whose stack falls to 0 busts into the lowest place and the other stacks stay put.

Source: Malmuth-Harville ICM, computed by GeorgeLiPoker's own library. The model follows D. A. Harville, 'Assigning Probabilities to the Outcomes of Multi-Entry Competitions', Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1973.

Questions

How much is the biggest stack worth in ICM with 6 players left?: Seat 1 holds 15,000 chips, 30.0% of the chips in play, and is worth 26.9% of the prize pool when 3 places pay 50/30/20 percent. That is -3.10 points against its chip share.
What equity does the smallest stack need to call the biggest stack's all-in?: 57.7%. In chips alone the call breaks even at 50%, but the bubble factor of 1.36 raises the requirement because losing costs the smallest stack 11.55% of the prize pool.
Why is ICM equity different from chip share?: Because the prize pool is paid by place, not by chips. Doubling a stack does not double its payout, so each extra chip is worth less than the one before it. Here the biggest stack is worth 26.9% of the prize pool for 30.0% of the chips.