ICM Basics
Understand payout-aware decisions.
Read guide →Worked Tournament Decision Scenarios
These examples are not universal charts. They demonstrate which variables should enter the decision and how changing one assumption can change the answer.
The purpose of a worked scenario is to expose the decision model: stack depth, position, ranges, payout incentives, fold equity and who covers whom. Exact ranges require explicit assumptions.
Scenario 1: 12 big blinds on the button
Setup: Action folds to you. Both blinds have medium stacks and no unusual payout pressure applies.
Decision lens: Start with stack depth, position, blind calling tendencies and whether an all-in or smaller open best uses fold equity.
Why: Twelve big blinds is shallow enough that committing chips and later folding can be expensive. Late position also means only two players remain to act, but the correct range still depends on how often they call.
Scenario 2: medium stack on the money bubble
Setup: You are fourth in chips, two very short stacks remain, and the chip leader covers you.
Decision lens: Compare the value of surviving the short stacks with the value of a marginal confrontation against the leader.
Why: Losing a large pot can eliminate you before players who are likely to face forced action soon. That can create a meaningful risk premium.
Scenario 3: shortest stack near the bubble
Setup: You have six big blinds and everyone else has at least fifteen.
Decision lens: Do not copy the medium stack’s survival strategy. Evaluate whether waiting one more orbit destroys your remaining fold equity.
Why: The shortest stack gains less from simply hoping others collide when forced bets are consuming a large fraction of its chips.
Scenario 4: comfortable satellite stack
Setup: Ten seats are awarded, eleven players remain, and several stacks have less than one orbit. You are among the leaders.
Decision lens: Ask whether winning more chips materially improves qualification compared with the downside of busting.
Why: In an equal-prize satellite, excess chips can have little marginal prize value once qualification is highly likely, while elimination still loses the seat.
Scenario 5: bounty call
Setup: A short opponent moves all-in and you cover them. A knockout bounty is available.
Decision lens: Add the bounty value to the chips you can win, then compare that total value with your call cost and tournament consequences.
Why: The bounty can make a wider call rational, but only if you actually cover the opponent and the additional reward compensates for the weaker hand equity and risk.
How to use these examples
Change one variable at a time. Add a large pay jump, remove the ante, change who covers whom, or move the action from the button to early position. If the decision never changes when the inputs change, the model is probably too simplistic.
Related reading
Stack Depth
Translate raw chips into strategic depth.
Read guide →Payout Structures
Identify what the event actually rewards.
Read guide →Last updated: August 26, 2026 · Publisher: Double Up Poker