ICM Calculator
Enter chip stacks and payouts — see each player's real dollar equity. Essential for final-table decisions, bubble play, and deal-making.
Type chip stacks, set a prize pool and payout structure — the calculator returns each player’s dollar equity using the Independent Chip Model (Malmuth-Harville algorithm). Below is the worked answer for a classic three-handed final-table spot. The numbers underneath the table are the whole reason ICM matters.
Worked example · 3-handed · $1,000 prize pool · 50 / 30 / 20
| Player | Chip stack | Chip share | ICM equity | ICM % | +/− gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chip leader | 60,000 | 60.0% | $412.40 | 41.2% | −18.8% |
| Middle stack | 30,000 | 30.0% | $338.30 | 33.8% | +3.8% |
| Short stack | 10,000 | 10.0% | $249.30 | 24.9% | +14.9% |
| Total | 100,000 | 100.0% | $1,000.00 | 100.0% | — |
Why the chip leader loses 18.8 points
Tournament chips don’t equal cash. The chip leader can’t win more than 1st place ($500), but they CAN bust and finish 3rd ($200). That capped upside vs. uncapped downside is the math that makes their 60% chip share worth only 41% of the money. It’s also why big stacks should fold marginal all-ins late — the EV of doubling up is much smaller than the EV of busting is large.
Why the short stack gains 14.9 points
The short stack has only 10% of the chips but is locked in for at least $200 the moment another player busts. That guaranteed payout (the “min cash”) is a floor under their equity that the math counts toward their dollar share. The same dynamic on a tournament bubble is why short stacks can sometimes ladder up by simply folding.
How the algorithm works. The Malmuth-Harville ICM treats each player’s probability of finishing in nth place as a function of their chip share among the players still alive. A player with 60% of chips finishes 1st 60% of the time; in the 30% of cases they don’t, the chips redistribute proportionally and the conditional probabilities for 2nd place are computed from there. Equity = sum of (probability of finishing in each position × prize for that position). The calculator above runs the same math for 2 to 9 players with whatever prize pool and payout you set.
What Is ICM?
The Independent Chip Model converts tournament chip stacks into real-dollar equity based on the payout structure. Unlike cash games where every chip is worth its face value, tournament chips change in value depending on how many players remain and what the payouts look like.
The key insight: chips you lose are worth more than chips you gain. If you have 50% of the chips with 3 players left in a 50/30/20 payout, your equity is not 50% of the prize pool — it is less, because your downside risk (busting and getting only 20%) outweighs your upside (winning and getting 50%). This is why ICM matters for every final table decision.
Use ICM for final table decisions (should I call this all-in?), bubble situations (should I tighten up to make the money?), and deal-making (what is a fair chop?). ICM is less relevant in the early and middle stages of a tournament where the payout is far away.
How to Use This Calculator
The +/- column shows the difference between ICM equity and chip equity. A positive number means ICM gives you more equity than your chip share suggests (common for short stacks). A negative number means ICM discounts your equity relative to your chips (common for chip leaders). This gap is why big stacks should avoid marginal all-ins at the final table — the math penalizes them.