ICM Basics
Review the broader model of non-linear chip value.
Read guide →Risk Premium in Double Up Sit & Gos
Risk premium is a practical way to describe the extra equity a tournament player may need before risking chips when losing them damages prize equity more than winning them improves it.
Near a Double Up bubble, a call that would be acceptable in pure chip-EV terms can be poor in payout-aware terms. The reason is asymmetric consequence: busting gets zero, while doubling may still earn exactly the same flat prize you were already likely to receive.
Chip symmetry versus prize asymmetry
In a cash game, winning 10 chips and losing 10 chips are symmetric in monetary value. In a tournament, especially a flat-payout survival format, they need not be. Losing your last 10 BB can reduce prize equity to zero. Winning another 10 BB cannot increase the maximum Double Up payout.
Who tends to face the largest premium?
Often a medium stack near the bubble when one or more shorter stacks remain. The medium stack already has meaningful survival equity and can lose all of it by calling a covering shove. The shortest stack, by contrast, may have little choice but to accept more risk because waiting also destroys equity.
Risk premium is not a fixed percentage
It depends on the payout structure and every remaining stack. If stacks change, the premium changes. This is why a universal “you need X% to call” rule is unreliable without a model.
Practical use without a solver
You can apply the idea qualitatively: when you are relatively safe and a shorter stack is in immediate danger, tighten calls that put your tournament life at risk. When you are the desperate short stack, accept that waiting has a cost and prioritize spots with fold equity.
Related reading
Calling All-Ins
Apply risk premium directly.
Read guide →Glossary: Risk Premium
See the concise definition.
Read guide →Last updated: August 26, 2026 · Publisher: Double Up Poker