Chip leader
The chip leader is the player holding the most chips at a table or in a tournament, which gives them the ability to put anyone else at risk of elimination.
The advantage is pressure rather than cards. Every opponent has to consider being knocked out and the leader does not, so pots that nobody else wants to contest can be taken cheaply and often.
The lead is worth less in money than it looks in chips. Prize pools pay a flatter scale than chips suggest, which is why doubling your stack never doubles what you expect to be paid.
an example
your cards
Three players remain with 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 chips and prizes of 500, 300 and 200. The leader holds half of all the chips, and ICM values that stack at 383.93 rather than the 500 the chip share suggests.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find chip leader in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
ICM
The Independent Chip Model, or ICM, estimates what a tournament stack is worth in prize money by treating each player's ...
Final table
The final table is the last table of a tournament, where the remaining players are combined into one seat draw and play ...
Stack
Your stack is the chips you have in play, which is the maximum you can win or lose in any single hand.
next
Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.