is this a wise investment?

[wpzone]

To me, friendship has always been more important than the money. If a good friend asks to borrow money, I tell them no, but I will give it to them as a gift (with good reason of course) and tell them I do not expect it. They have always returned it, but if there was a problem and they could not, there were no hard feelings.

My .02

No..you cant borrow money! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Wetdog]

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What's wrong with just sending them to instantbankroll.com?

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word. problem solved

[dethgrind]

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These are smart guys, UCLA science students, and I trust them. They have a good amount of home game experience, and have watched some WSOP and WPT stuff, so they aren't complete novices.

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Well gee whiz, what are you waiting for??! If you don't stake them I will!

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I hope your children have birth defects.

[schlach]

Whoah, hey, easy there. We're all friends here. =)

Anyway, I think your proposition is an excellent idea - I think your problem will be getting your friends to take you up on the idea. That might come back to questions of whether they've got the discipline to learn right (rather than watching all that WPT action-cam).

Basically, we're talking about green and/or novice players who are fully capable of taking their game to the next level, have expressed interest in reading the literature (and have already started), they've got the table set, they've got the sauce, they're just missing the stake. [* Full disclosure, I know the players in question] They're also roommates in our poker training camp (ie apartment), and the friendships in question are 5-10 years strong. Money goes around our group all the time (particularly for throwing parties, going to Vegas, and paying rent) and it always gets resolved satisfactorily. I don't think dethgrind's question was about whether the friendship could suffer; no one here, no matter how much poker experience they have, is in a better position to answer that than he is. He was asking whether it was unwise to expect a return on his investment - could green players, with proper instruction and access to the literature, pushed into being contributing and receiving members of the community (the twoplustwo posts), be expected to turn a profit -- if they've got a bonus overlay against arguably worse players on Party? And, if there is a risk, is it worth the gamble considering how much more fun it would make our small-stakes poker-night grudge matches and 24-hr poker discussions?

deth, if you're worried about the risk, I'll buy in to the bank too.

Mmmmm, money and friendship... together at last.

[gopnik]

bad bad bad idea. They'll play recklessly because it's not their money. You'll probably end up losing your money and your friends.

[tiltaholic]

[ QUOTE ]
Whoah, hey, easy there. We're all friends here. =)

Anyway, I think your proposition is an excellent idea - I think your problem will be getting your friends to take you up on the idea. That might come back to questions of whether they've got the discipline to learn right (rather than watching all that WPT action-cam).

Basically, we're talking about green and/or novice players who are fully capable of taking their game to the next level, have expressed interest in reading the literature (and have already started), they've got the table set, they've got the sauce, they're just missing the stake. [* Full disclosure, I know the players in question] They're also roommates in our poker training camp (ie apartment), and the friendships in question are 5-10 years strong. Money goes around our group all the time (particularly for throwing parties, going to Vegas, and paying rent) and it always gets resolved satisfactorily. I don't think dethgrind's question was about whether the friendship could suffer; no one here, no matter how much poker experience they have, is in a better position to answer that than he is. He was asking whether it was unwise to expect a return on his investment - could green players, with proper instruction and access to the literature, pushed into being contributing and receiving members of the community (the twoplustwo posts), be expected to turn a profit -- if they've got a bonus overlay against arguably worse players on Party? And, if there is a risk, is it worth the gamble considering how much more fun it would make our small-stakes poker-night grudge matches and 24-hr poker discussions?

deth, if you're worried about the risk, I'll buy in to the bank too.

Mmmmm, money and friendship... together at last.

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i seriously cannot comprehend someone who is unwilling to take $100 of their own money and try it. especially if they play poker and know the rules already. insert any amount of startup money...it just doesn't make sense.

there is going to be a period of time while they are learning anyway.

assuming that all of the potential negative things that could happen that others have mentioned don't for whatever reason, it just doesn't make sense.

[dethgrind]

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bad bad bad idea. They'll play recklessly because it's not their money. You'll probably end up losing your money and your friends.

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These guys are very proud, and determined to get better at poker. They will almost surely play their best. Still, I am completely prepared to lose the entire stake.

[dethgrind]

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i seriously cannot comprehend someone who is unwilling to take $100 of their own money and try it. especially if they play poker and know the rules already. insert any amount of startup money...it just doesn't make sense.

there is going to be a period of time while they are learning anyway.

assuming that all of the potential negative things that could happen that others have mentioned don't for whatever reason, it just doesn't make sense.

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So yeah, this thread seemed to get way off the topic I was trying to get the most feedback on. Let's just assume that it does make sense for a little while.

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Can green players, with proper instruction and access to the literature, pushed into being contributing and receiving members of the community (the twoplustwo posts), be expected to turn a profit -- if they've got a bonus overlay against arguably worse players on Party? And, if there is a risk, is it worth the gamble considering how much more fun it would make our small-stakes poker-night grudge matches and 24-hr poker discussions?

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Furthermore, supposing the answer to those two questions is yes, how would you set up the mechanics of the deal differently?

Let me make this clear: the friendships will be fine. We've been friends for years and thrown money around like this before with no problems. Also, I am not afraid of losing the entire stake.

[GrunchCan]

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I hope your children have birth defects.

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Totally uncalled for. This isn't RGP.

[tiltaholic]

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Can green players, with proper instruction and access to the literature, pushed into being contributing and receiving members of the community (the twoplustwo posts), be expected to turn a profit -- if they've got a bonus overlay against arguably worse players on Party? And, if there is a risk, is it worth the gamble considering how much more fun it would make our small-stakes poker-night grudge matches and 24-hr poker discussions?

[/ QUOTE ]

Furthermore, supposing the answer to those two questions is yes, how would you set up the mechanics of the deal differently?


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for the love of god this is what people are trying to tell you. if all is as comfy-feely as you say (fine. great. you have great friends and a great relationship with them.) the only way to do this is to do it for no profit on your end. push them, teach them, be their friend and GIVE THEM THE MONEY to be paid back at a later time when their own br is stable because they're winning. if they lose, then they lose...