Independent Chip Modeling (ICM) determines your equity share of the prize pool in a tournament based on the stack sizes of the remaining opponents and the. This formula was first. Standing for Independent Chip Model is a mathematical model or calculation that enables anyone to convert a tournament chip stack into a. The Independent Chip Model (ICM) is a mathematical formula that converts your tournament stack into a monetary value. This is quite. It stands for Independent Chip Model, but what is it actually? And how should it influence our strategy, if we are a cash game player mixing in some tournaments. ICM poker (Independent chip model) allows players to estimate the value of their stack at any given point in a tournament. It is a model that allows you to convert a tournament players chips into their real money equity. Using the independent chip model (ICM), we can determine our equity in a tournament based on our chip stack, other chip stacks at the table, and. ICM is an acronym for Independent Chip Model which is a calculation that allows players to convert a tournament chip stack into a monetary value of their equity. ICM stands for the Independent Chip Model. . In poker, the Independent Chip Model (ICM), also known as the Malmuth–Harville method, is a mathematical model that approximates a player's overall equity.