CHOP CALCULATOR
When the last players of a poker tournament agree to stop and split the money, that deal is called a chop. This free chop calculator works out what each player should be paid — by an equal split, by chip counts, by a custom deal, or by ICM, the Independent Chip Model used by every serious tournament.
-> Select a chopping method, add the players and their stacks, and provide the prize structure (if using ICM) — everything else is calculated automatically.
The Independent Chip Model turns each stack into the prize money it is expected to win against the payout structure below.
Leftovers go to the biggest stack, shortfalls come off the smallest.
- 1st
$600.00 - 2nd
$360.00 - 3rd
$240.00
Players in the deal
Four ways to chop a prize pool
Equal
Everybody takes the same amount. Quick, friendly, and the only split the short stack will ever propose.
Chip Based
Also called a chip chop: your share of the chips is your share of the money. It overpays the chip leader, because chips do not convert to cash one for one.
ICM
The Independent Chip Model prices every stack at the prize money it expects to win against the payout structure. It is the fairest of the four and the standard for an ICM chop.
Custom
Whatever the table agreed on. Use it to write down a deal that was already struck, or to leave a little extra on top for the winner.
What is ICM in poker?
ICM stands for the Independent Chip Model. It converts a chip stack into an expected prize by adding up, for every finishing position, the chance of landing there multiplied by what that place pays. Because the money flattens out below first place, a big stack is worth less in cash than its share of the chips — which is exactly why an ICM chop pays the short stacks more than a chip chop does.
When should a tournament chop?
Usually late, when the blinds are big enough that the last places are close to a coin flip and the players would rather lock the money up than play it out. Agree on the method before you look at the numbers, work out the split, and pay it out. A deal only holds if everyone still in the tournament agrees to it.