How to be "staked"

Hi,


This is for internet poker, but what does it mean to be "staked"? How do the details of that work generally? Someone gives you a bankroll, and you split the winnings 50/50? Thanks!


- Tony

You can make any deal you want or can get away with. Backing a player 100% and splitting WINNINGS 50/50 is a disaster for the backer. You'd be better off paying an hourly rate.


A "good" deal is when both backer and player invest in the buy-in and they receive the ratio of the cash-out comperable to their investments. So if a player wants to play in a 20-40 game but doesn't have the bankroll he may find a backer where he invests $3000 and the backer $2000, and he gives the backer 2/5 of whatever he cashes out. This deal has the affect of letting a player play in "12/24" game against 20/40 players.


If there are deals fundamentally different but reasonably fair, I'd like to hear about them.


- Louie

The only time I've been backed, I was paid a wage to play in a game. A player approached me to play for him in a game that I couldn't afford to play in. The deal worked great as I gained valuable experience with no risk, while he made a few bucks out of the deal.

If you're a winning player, 100% backing and splitting winnings 50-50 only works for the backer if the arrangement is defined over a long period of play. If it's per session it's a horrible investment. If it's a running tally over many hours of play, it can be a phenomenal investment, provided the player really does win on the order of a big bet per hour.


In perspective: put up 300BB. Risk of ruin is very low. Play 200 hours over 3 months. Backer gets 100BB = 33% in 3 mos. on average with low risk of ruin. Hell of an investment, but the player must have the goods.

IMO, Louie's way of staking is just about the only fair way to do things. If you want someone else to let you play with their money, you have to be taking your fair share of the risk, otherwise what's your motivation to play with their best interests in mind? If you only stand to gain, but not to lose, whomever is backing you is taking all the risk, but only stands to get a portion of the rewards. Equal partners in both risk and reward, or proportionate partners if one is putting up more than half the cash.