Final table talking about a deal? Enter everyone’s chips and the remaining payouts to see the fair ICM split — the amount each player’s stack is really worth — next to a straight chip chop.
Chip counts
Remaining payouts
ICM is the fairest deal — it values chips by finish probability, so short stacks get more than a raw chip split. Chip chop splits the whole pool by chip percentage (only fair when stacks are close).
In a tournament, a chip you win is worth a little less than a chip you lose — because doubling your stack doesn’t double your equity when first place is capped. That’s the whole reason ICM exists: it prices each stack by how often it finishes in each paying spot, not by raw count.
The ICM column is the fair, defensible number for each player. If the group wants to reward the eventual winner, agree to hold a small amount back from the deal and play for it. The chip-chop column is only fair when everyone’s stacks are close — otherwise it overpays the leaders.
ICM (the Independent Chip Model) converts tournament chip stacks into real-money value based on each player’s probability of finishing in each paying position. Because chips aren’t worth a linear amount of money in a tournament, ICM is the standard way to price a fair deal or chop at the final table.
Enter every remaining player’s chip count and the payouts still to be awarded. An ICM calculator computes each player’s expected prize money — that ICM number is the fair amount for each player in a deal. A straight “chip chop” instead splits the whole pool by chip percentage, which overpays big stacks.
A chip chop splits the remaining prize pool in proportion to chips. ICM accounts for the fact that a big stack can’t finish better than first, so it can’t claim a proportional share of the top prize. ICM gives short stacks more and big stacks less than a chip chop — it’s the fairer, more widely accepted method.
Deals are common when the remaining players agree the variance isn’t worth it — often three-to-five-handed at a final table with steep payouts. Use the ICM numbers as the baseline; players sometimes leave a small amount on top for the eventual winner.
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