When you should accept a final table deal
There is no shame in doing a final table deal, in fact there are a lot of good reasons to lock up a big payday instead of playing on.
There has always been a strange stigma to final table deals in poker, even though most poker tournaments end in a deal.
I'm currently working on my 5th poker book (third one with Dara O'Kearney) and among the topics we take a big dive into deals. Not only do we think final table deals are a good idea most of the time but we also argue there is a skill to negotiating them.
So when should you make a deal at the final table?
A +EV deal or reducing variance
The best single reason to accept a deal is if it is a favourable one. An ICM deal (one where you are paid based on your current equity) is usually a good deal unless you have a significant skill edge on the table. If you can negotiate a deal where you get slightly better than ICM because of a skill edge, you should probably always take it.
The next reason to take a deal is to reduce variance, which is particularly important when you make final tables that are bigger than you are used to. The ones that don't come around very often. These spots happen so rarely that you'll never see the 'long term' in them, so taking a deal is the best way to realise a large amount of equity.
The key really is reducing variance in those tournaments that don't happen often. If you grind 180-man SNGs then you probably should never deal because you will play a lot of those final tables and you will miss out on a ton of EV. But if, for example, you satellite into a major event and final table it, you are probably playing for an amount you won't see again for a long time.
The utility of the money
Another reason to deal is when the amount you can lock up has utility for you, either personally or in your poker career. When the money means something meaningful to you. If the amount you deal for would get you out of makeup or put you in profit after a bad downswing, that's a reasonable reason to do it.
Another good reason to take a slightly minus EV deal is if the amount would bankroll you to move up in stakes comfortably. If locking up $10,000, when the potential top prize is $20,000, but the next bustout would be $4,000, means that you can move up to $100 MTTs from $50 MTTs, in the long term it might serve you better to ensure you can move up in stakes and play for bigger prize pools in general.
Then of course you have the utility of money when the top prize simply meant you could buy something you've always wanted like a car, a holiday etc.
Finally, my co-author Dara told me he often would take slightly minus EV deals in the lowest stakes tournaments he plays. Deals he would not take in his medium stakes games. The reason for that is time, he wants the tournament to be over quicker. When the money doesn't mean a great deal to him and finishing early to do something else or get a good night of sleep is an option, he'll take a less than perfect deal just to avoid having to play for another three hours.
Reasons not to accept a deal
If a deal looks good to you and your personal circumstances, even if it is technically a minus EV deal on paper, you should take it. However, one reason not to deal is social pressure. You get this a lot at local tournaments where the regulars all know each other. Sometimes you can feel pressured into a deal because the atmosphere when you don't deal would be icy.
To quote Dara - "do you care about money, or the admonishment of strangers?". Unless you genuinely fear that the regulars might wait for you outside, you shouldn't accept a bad deal. You might want to give them a generous deal, however, if you plan on playing against them regularly, so they might reciprocate in the future.
To avoid social awkwardness you can just tell them you have a backer and they said you can't deal, even if it's not true. It's a quick way to put the blame on somebody else and carry on playing without people cursing under their breath at you.
There is no shame in dealing and even sacrificing a bit of EV to lock up a meaningful amount of money for yourself. It's important to arm yourself with the knowledge of what your stack is worth in equity terms to make an informed deal (the free calculator at ICMIZER does this for you), but ultimately the only bad deal is one you don't want to make.
What was your best MTT chop deal? Let us know in the comments:
