Understanding ICM in Poker
For everyone who is going to be playing Sit and Go's with any frequency they have to be familiar with ICM. Understanding ICM will allow them to make decisions that might on the surface seem bad, but are mathematically correct. ICM is the only way to do this; it is not something that is going to be obvious to a new player.
ICM stands for Independent Chip Model. What this essential means is that it is measurement of your equity in a SNG. Realize that those chips you are playing with have no real value; they are only valuable in relation to the prize pool.
ICM takes factors such as the stack sizes of your opponents and the payout and give you a better idea of what to do. There will be times when calling with Ace King will be mathematically incorrect because it will risk your equity and the edge you gain should your aces hold up is not significant.
Many of the calculations seem counter intuitive. This is why ICM calculators are so essential. A play may seem to be incorrect on first glance, but by using an ICM calculator you can see the hard numbers.
Much of this can be done ahead of time and after many experiments it becomes second nature. For online MTT and SNG pros it is something that they have worked out before and after their games so that in the heat of the moment they do not have to work out calculations.
The crucial thing to understand is that while most pro players understand ICM, recreational players don't. For this reason you will find yourself getting called in spots by people who should mathematically never call with that hand considering their stack size and position in the SNG.
These people do not play mathematically correct. This can be frustrating, but it is something you can see if you take notice. They are usually the players who are often open limping, or calling raises and c-bets with odd hands or on draws where they are not getting proper pot odds. In essence, they are the bad players.
What you need to do is practice with Pokerstove and learn what the equity of certain hands is against other hands. Then you can take this knowledge and apply it to your SNG endgame.
The math behind the decisions is tiresome and cannot be done on the spot. There are online ICM calculators that you can use, but most pros prefer to run their games through SNG wiz and by doing this over and over get used to the spots that come up frequently.
It is important to know that an ICM model will not and should not give the same advice for a situation against all opponents. The range with which they are shoving or calling determines what your equity is. This is something no calculator can do; it is what you have to do by watching plays and observing their tendencies.
This is a reason that someone who has played in the $ 3.00 or $5.00 SNG's may run hot for a while in the $36.00 SNG's. The regulars have not adjusted properly to that new persons ranges and until they do the person will be able to make more profitable shoves.
For everyone who is going to be playing Sit and Go's with any frequency they have to be familiar with ICM. Understanding ICM will allow them to make decisions that might on the surface seem bad, but are mathematically correct. ICM is the only way to do this; it is not something that is going to be obvious to a new player.
ICM stands for Independent Chip Model. What this essential means is that it is measurement of your equity in a SNG. Realize that those chips you are playing with have no real value; they are only valuable in relation to the prize pool.
ICM takes factors such as the stack sizes of your opponents and the payout and give you a better idea of what to do. There will be times when calling with Ace King will be mathematically incorrect because it will risk your equity and the edge you gain should your aces hold up is not significant.
Many of the calculations seem counter intuitive. This is why ICM calculators are so essential. A play may seem to be incorrect on first glance, but by using an ICM calculator you can see the hard numbers.
Much of this can be done ahead of time and after many experiments it becomes second nature. For online MTT and SNG pros it is something that they have worked out before and after their games so that in the heat of the moment they do not have to work out calculations.
The crucial thing to understand is that while most pro players understand ICM, recreational players don't. For this reason you will find yourself getting called in spots by people who should mathematically never call with that hand considering their stack size and position in the SNG.
These people do not play mathematically correct. This can be frustrating, but it is something you can see if you take notice. They are usually the players who are often open limping, or calling raises and c-bets with odd hands or on draws where they are not getting proper pot odds. In essence, they are the bad players.
What you need to do is practice with Pokerstove and learn what the equity of certain hands is against other hands. Then you can take this knowledge and apply it to your SNG endgame.
The math behind the decisions is tiresome and cannot be done on the spot. There are online ICM calculators that you can use, but most pros prefer to run their games through SNG wiz and by doing this over and over get used to the spots that come up frequently.
It is important to know that an ICM model will not and should not give the same advice for a situation against all opponents. The range with which they are shoving or calling determines what your equity is. This is something no calculator can do; it is what you have to do by watching plays and observing their tendencies.
This is a reason that someone who has played in the $ 3.00 or $5.00 SNG's may run hot for a while in the $36.00 SNG's. The regulars have not adjusted properly to that new persons ranges and until they do the person will be able to make more profitable shoves.
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