Chip leader

Also: chip lead, big stack

The player with the most chips in a tournament, or at a particular table. Chip leaders apply ICM pressure and can afford to take marginal spots the rest of the field cannot.

Example. The chip leader covers everyone at the table and is opening every other hand.

Related terms

Full glossary

ICM pressure

The tournament effect where medium stacks must fold hands that would be profitable in chip terms, because bust…

Day 2 / bagging

At the end of a tournament day, surviving players 'bag' their chips in a sealed bag with their name and chip c…

Short stack

A stack that is small relative to the blinds — in tournaments usually under about 20 big blinds — or, in cash …

Add-on

A one-time option at the end of the rebuy period to buy extra chips regardless of your stack size. Almost alwa…

Big blind ante

A tournament format where, instead of every player posting an ante, the player in the big blind posts one larg…

Bounty

A cash prize paid for knocking a specific player out of a tournament. In a knockout event every player carries…

Bracelet

The gold bracelet awarded to the winner of every World Series of Poker event — the most coveted trophy in the …

Bubble

The point in a tournament just before the payouts begin: the next player eliminated leaves with nothing while …