Looking for Backers

[Greg (FossilMan)]

This post is primarily directed at those who know me through my long history of posting about poker on the internet, here and on rgp. Of course, anyone is invited to participate, but I don't really expect to hear from anybody who doesn't already know me pretty well. If anyone feels that this post is inappropriate for 2+2, I apologize.

Unfortunately, I find that my bankroll has gotten pretty slim. Although I earn a nice living as an attorney, the deal I made with my wife a few years ago specifies that the only money I can play poker with is money won playing poker. So, my bankroll only grows through poker wins, and shrinks through poker losses and expenditures. I have won a good bit of money each year for the last few years, but have spent too much of it (house downpayment, "real" wedding ring for wife, family vacation to Disneyworld, etc.).

Before going to the World Series this year, my bankroll was at about $45,000. I decided not to hold back at all, and that I was going to play in the last few events with or without satellite wins. Thus, I brought $15,000 for tourneys and another $15,000 for satellites and side games. The trip was a disaster beginning to end, with numerous bad beats and other such stories I won't bore you with (if you're really interested in the details, please see the trip report posted on rgp and 2+2). Since coming home from that trip, I've largely limited my play to the Tuesday night NL HE tourneys at Foxwoods, some PL HE after the tourney, plus the occasional foray into the 50-100 HOE game at Mohegan Sun when it looks especially good. However, since the WSOP ended, I've not managed to make any headway, and still have a bankroll of only about $15,000.

So now the World Poker Finals is approaching. And I want to compete in their main event, which is priced at $10,000 this year. I would also like to play regularly in the 50-100 HOE game, as it is good much more often than not. However, $15,000 really isn't enough for this, and if I were to go broke, I would not have the bankroll to play at all, unless I convinced my wife to let me withdraw funds from other sources. And, as you can imagine, I would rather win it.

So, I've decided to see if there is enough interest in backing me to go this route. What I propose to do is solicit investments in units of $500., with the goal of raising $40-50,000. Of this amount, I would contribute $10,000, and the other investors would provide the remaining 30-40K. I would then use this bankroll to stake my poker play for the remainder of 2002. I would use this money for gambling at poker, but not for any other form of gambling, and I would use it at my best discretion within the realm of poker. At a minimum, I expect to use the bankroll to participate in 6-10 events at the World Poker Finals, to play almost every Tuesday in the Foxwoods NL HE tourney, and to play 1-2 times per week in the 50-100 HOE game at Mohegan Sun. Assuming the bankroll is still healthy, I would also expect to participate in 4 or more events at the U.S. Poker Championships in Atlantic City.

At the end of the year, if the bankroll had lost money, then each investor would sustain that loss in proportion to their investment. Thus, if the total bankroll was $50,000, and you had invested $500, you would sustain 1% of the total loss. If the total loss were $20,000, you would sustain a loss of $200, and the remaining $300 would be returned to you. If we broke even, everyone would get their investment returned 100%. But, in the best case, where we make a profit, it works like this. The original investment is returned first. Next, the profit is divided as follows: 35% to me for time and effort, and 65% to each investor in proportion to their investment. Thus, if the total bankroll were $50,000, and you had invested $500, you would gain 0.65% of the profit. If the total win were $20,000, you would get your $500 back, plus 1% of $13,000 (the investor's share of the profits) or $130.

If we do really well, I will win the $10,000 main event at the World Poker Finals, and each $500 investment will return as much as a $3,000 profit (plus have a share of me in the $25,000 entry fee main event of the World Poker Tour, since this seat would come with winning the WPF main event). If I do about as expected in the 50-100 HOE game for the rest of the year, and do nothing special in the tournaments, each investment will probably about break even. If all goes poorly, then your entire investment may be lost.

That is an important consideration. If the investment you make is too much risk for you, your bankroll, or your temperament, then please do not make it. Making this investment will tie up your money for the rest of the year, and early withdrawals will not be allowed unless I and all the other investors were to agree (not too likely). This is a very high-risk investment, with the potential for an exceptional return, but also the potential for a complete loss. Based upon my past results in the big mixed games around here, I would expect an average profit in the 50-100 HOE game of between about 10 and 15,000 for the rest of the year (given a play time of about 10 hours per week). But, as we all know, there is a big luck factor involved, and anything is possible. It is also possible that the game will die or go bad (meaning I would choose not to play in it), and the opportunity to play in bigger games locally will not exist. In such a situation, your money would be tied up in games at the 20-40 level or thereabouts, where the potential profit (and loss) is not as great. Still, at a minimum, you would be buying a piece of my play in many major poker tournaments at Foxwoods and the Taj, and the overall potential for significant profits would remain.

If you seriously wish to make an investment, please contact me by email. If enough people want to do this, I will contact all of you with information about sending me your investment money, and we will begin the playing period. Please also feel free to email me with your questions, which I will gladly answer.

This being posted in a public forum, I am sure there will be many sarcastic comments and the like. I can't stop you from making them, but I can and will ignore them. If you don't like this investment, then don't make it. It's that simple.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

What's the payout for the World Poker Finals? How much is the first prize? Thank you.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

There is no way to know for sure, because the prizes in each event are a percentage of the prize pool. And, of course, the prize pool isn't known until registration closes right before each event starts.

However, the main event this year is $10K to enter (up from 5K). In the past few years, we've had about 80 or so entries in this event, and first prize was a bit over 150K. However, I expect to see a lot more players this year because the event is part of the World Poker Tour. I am predicting over 100 players, for a $1M prize pool, and roughly 350K to the winner. Possibly much more.

As for the other events, they range in price from $300 to $2K to enter. The 300 and 500 events will probably have from 200-500+ entrants depending upon popularity of the game and day of the week. The 1K and 2K events will probably have more like 50-150 players. First prizes in all these events will vary between about $20K and 80K.

All of this is guesswork. With the World Poker Tour connection, I expect to see a lot more tourney regulars from LV and LA and elsewhere around the world showing up. And, I think the bigger numbers will similarly draw in more local/regional players who want to take a shot at winning the big prizes.

Either way Foxwoods gives you so much play it's always a good tournament. Better than anything else I've been to.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[recreo12]

Greg, I guess your bankroll has grown... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Congrats.

Nate