Same average. Different field.

Two invented complete nine-player fields, each with 900,000 chips. Hero has 80,000 in both. Study the distributions below, then change the big-blind unit without changing any chips.

Field A · BB 2,000 chips
Mean 100,000 chips = 50bb · Median 50,000 chips = 25bb
Hero 80,000 chips = 40bb · Rank 3 of 9

Field A

9 players · 900,000 chips
Mean: 100,000 · Median: 50,000
Hero: 3rd of 9

1. Player360,000 chips
2. Player250,000 chips
3. Hero80,000 chips
4. Player60,000 chips
5. Player50,000 chips
6. Player40,000 chips
7. Player30,000 chips
8. Player20,000 chips
9. Player10,000 chips

Field B

9 players · 900,000 chips
Mean: 100,000 · Median: 80,000
Hero: 5th of 9

1. Player180,000 chips
2. Player160,000 chips
3. Player140,000 chips
4. Player120,000 chips
5. Hero80,000 chips
6. Player70,000 chips
7. Player60,000 chips
8. Player50,000 chips
9. Player40,000 chips

Two invented complete fields, sorted largest to smallest. Both panels use the same bar scale: a full bar is 360,000 chips. Hero is labeled and outlined. These are alternative snapshots, not consecutive hands.

Separate change: one elimination

In Field A, the 10,000 stack loses every chip to the 360,000 leader. There are now eight stacks totaling 900,000. The mean rises to 112,500 chips. At BB 2,000 that is 56.25bb; Hero remains at 40bb. The new median is 55,000 chips. If the big blind then rises to 4,000, the mean is 28.125bb and Hero has 20bb.

Mean = total ÷ players remaining. Median = middle sorted stack, averaging the middle two for an even count. Rank here = 1 + the number of larger stacks. These fixed examples do not predict payouts or recommend poker actions.

No account, network request, storage or user-data collection. With JavaScript off, both full fields and the initial unit example remain above. For Field B at BB 2,000: mean 50bb, median 40bb, Hero 40bb. At BB 4,000, divide all these bb counts by two.

Read the article and reproduction notes. Created September 21, 2026.