Final table
The final table is the last table of a tournament, where the remaining players are combined into one seat draw and play down to a winner.
It is where the prize ladder gets steep, and where chip value and money value part company most sharply. Moving up one place can be worth more than doubling your stack, so calls that would be routine in a cash game become clear folds.
Play tends to slow down for the same reason. Short stacks are waiting for others to bust, big stacks can attack that reluctance, and the correct strategy depends as much on the payout structure as on the cards.
an example
your cards
Three players are left with 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 chips and prizes of 500, 300 and 200. ICM values those stacks at 383.93, 327.50 and 288.57, so the short stack holds 20% of the chips and 28.9% of the money still to be paid.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find final table 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 ...
Bubble
The bubble is the point in a tournament where one more player has to be eliminated before anybody gets paid, which makes ...
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 ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.