In the money
also called ITM
To finish in the money is to survive far enough in a tournament to be paid from the prize pool, whatever place you eventually take.
Most tournaments pay around the top 15% of the field, so the great majority of entries finish with nothing. That is the shape of the format rather than a sign of playing badly.
Cashing often is not the same as doing well. Most of the prize pool sits in the top few places, so a strategy built around limping into the money usually produces a long list of small cashes and a poor return.
an example
your cards
A field of 500 pays the top 70 places. You reach 71 players with 8 big blinds and ace queen, and the shove that risks your tournament is also the one that gives you a stack worth playing for once the money starts.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find in the money in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Bubble
The bubble is the point in a tournament where one more player has to be eliminated before anybody gets paid, which makes ...
ROI
ROI is tournament profit expressed as a percentage of the money staked, so an ROI of 20% means every buy in returned an ...
MTT
A multi table tournament is an event where every entrant starts with the same chips, the blinds rise on a clock, and pla ...
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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.