How much is each stack worth with 6 players left?
The stacks are two big stacks: two players hold 15,000 chips each and the rest hold 5,000 each. That makes 50,000 chips in play, and two places paid, 65 and 35 percent. The table gives each seat's share of the prize pool next to its share of the chips.
| Seat | Chips | Share of chips | ICM equity | ICM minus chips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | 15,000 | 30.00% | 28.67% | -1.33 points |
| Seat 2 | 15,000 | 30.00% | 28.67% | -1.33 points |
| Seat 3 | 5,000 | 10.00% | 10.67% | +0.67 points |
| Seat 4 | 5,000 | 10.00% | 10.67% | +0.67 points |
| Seat 5 | 5,000 | 10.00% | 10.67% | +0.67 points |
| Seat 6 | 5,000 | 10.00% | 10.67% | +0.67 points |
Prize money flattens the stacks. Seat 2 gives up 1.33 points of equity compared with its share of the chips, and Seat 3 gains 0.67 points.
How often does each seat finish in the money?
Before payouts are applied, each stack has a chance of every finishing place. The biggest stack cashes 56.2% of the time, the smallest 21.9%, with 2 places paid.
| Seat | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | 30.00% | 26.19% | 20.24% | 13.57% | 7.38% | 2.62% | 56.19% |
| Seat 2 | 30.00% | 26.19% | 20.24% | 13.57% | 7.38% | 2.62% | 56.19% |
| Seat 3 | 10.00% | 11.90% | 14.88% | 18.21% | 21.31% | 23.69% | 21.90% |
| Seat 4 | 10.00% | 11.90% | 14.88% | 18.21% | 21.31% | 23.69% | 21.90% |
| Seat 5 | 10.00% | 11.90% | 14.88% | 18.21% | 21.31% | 23.69% | 21.90% |
| Seat 6 | 10.00% | 11.90% | 14.88% | 18.21% | 21.31% | 23.69% | 21.90% |
| Seat | From first | From second | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | 19.50 | 9.17 | 28.67% |
| Seat 2 | 19.50 | 9.17 | 28.67% |
| Seat 3 | 6.50 | 4.17 | 10.67% |
| Seat 4 | 6.50 | 4.17 | 10.67% |
| Seat 5 | 6.50 | 4.17 | 10.67% |
| Seat 6 | 6.50 | 4.17 | 10.67% |
What is the bubble factor for each seat with 6 players left?
The bubble factor is the prize equity a player loses by losing an all-in divided by the equity gained by winning it. The highest figure here is 1.46, for Seat 1 calling Seat 2, and the lowest is 1.07, for Seat 1 calling Seat 3.
| Seat | vs Seat 1 | vs Seat 2 | vs Seat 3 | vs Seat 4 | vs Seat 5 | vs Seat 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 1 | none | 1.46 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.07 |
| Seat 2 | 1.46 | none | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.07 | 1.07 |
| Seat 3 | 1.13 | 1.13 | none | 1.08 | 1.08 | 1.08 |
| Seat 4 | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.08 | none | 1.08 | 1.08 |
| Seat 5 | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.08 | 1.08 | none | 1.08 |
| Seat 6 | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.08 | 1.08 | 1.08 | 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 1.13. A call that needs 50% in chips needs 53.1% once prize money counts, which is 3.1 points more. The same all-in the other way, with the biggest stack calling the smallest, has a bubble factor of 1.07 and needs 51.8%, 1.8 points over the chip figure. The smaller stack is the one that pays the larger ICM premium, because losing the all-in costs it 10.67% of the prize pool and winning adds 9.42%.
| 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 | 1.1327 | 50.0% | 53.1% | 10.67% | 20.08% | 0.00% |
| Biggest stack calls smallest | 5,000 | 1.0729 | 50.0% | 51.8% | 28.67% | 36.67% | 20.08% |
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?
A player finishes first with chance equal to their share of the chips; each next place goes to the players left in proportion to their stacks. Equity is the payout of each place times the chance of finishing there. The bubble factor is prize equity lost by losing the all-in divided by prize equity gained by winning it, with the other stacks unchanged; a player whose stack reaches 0 busts and takes the lowest place.
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 28.7% of the prize pool when 2 places pay 65/35 percent. That is -1.33 points against its chip share.
- What equity does the smallest stack need to call the biggest stack's all-in?
- 53.1%. In chips alone the call breaks even at 50%, but the bubble factor of 1.13 raises the requirement because losing costs the smallest stack 10.67% 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 28.7% of the prize pool for 30.0% of the chips.