What about the guys in makeup? It is so frigging annoying when someone gets into makeup and then basically stops playing. Makes me want to ask them to repay their makeup or face negative feedback. It's one thing if they keep losing but to essentially stop playing (like 2k-5k hands/month) is pretty much a breach of contract.

Hey guys,

I'm currently setting up a deal with 2 people to play live cash games.

I've written a sort of contract between together. Tell me if u think it's enough clear and makes sense It's special because they gonna use the same bankroll and split the winnings (if one players lost 1/2 of the bk and the other guy won 1/2, no one of them will get money).

Here are the rules

1. I stake you for 2000€. This will be your total bankroll (for both of you)
2. You have to play at least 10 sessions until the XX/XX/YYYY
3. You have to keep me aware on the results after each sessions
4. At the end of the deal, I'll get back all of my investment.
5. YOu have to give me 50% of total benefits and you get 25% each
6. If the total bankroll goes under 2000€ after a session, I can complete to get back to the initial bankroll.
7. I can stop the deal if the initial bankroll has been lost.
8. If the bankroll goes under 1K€, only one player I've chosen will play.

you can add this into a contract as well, tell them the first month you will get your cut reduced, two months in a row will mean your contract may be terminated and you will be asked to pay any makeup in full or something like this.

You can add any stipulations to a contract that you want, I think a lot of backers feel bound to just do what other people do or to what is "fair" to a horse. Fact is the only people that will find it unfair is the people lying about the amount of volume they can put in, or the people trying to angle you into dropping them. The chances that people will pay off the makeup may be small (most people who want staking are busto) but at least you will have better reason to leave negative feedback about them and they won't be able to get backing from others. I will actually probably add this point to my contracts.

I haven't finished reading the post, so maybe this has already been said, but this just seems like collusion.

You have to leave the game beatable for them. Sounds like they will have a very low hourly.

I'd also include a clause that you can stop the deal at any time.

Not sure if this is in it already but it seems like a good idea to record your stakee on video over skype agreeing to the stake and conditions.

This will be in the back of there mind in the unlikely event of them considering a scam.

how to explain isildur1 tho...? seems to negate the the most increadible story in online poker history

Staking him sounds like a quick way to go busto unless you have a 7-8fig bankroll

this is a great post. thank you very much

i have a few more Qs about staking. im wondering what the differences are between staking cash, mtt and sng. thanks for the post though.

Hi,

I'm in the process of staking a friend for live cash ($2/$5 & $5/$10) I've known and played with the guy for years and know his results both online and live. He's not the best player I know but has consistently beat both the live stakes aforementioned as well as 100 and 200nl online with volume. Long story short, he's a great horse who just paid off student loans and a car with his roll. He's going to be staying with me in Vegas for the duration of the stake and we've written up a variation of the standard contract recommended by Doug.

My questions are more towards stat keeping and reporting given the live setting. (what a shame he can't just send me hem logs. Hah!) He will obviously report duration of sessions, buyins used, cash out amounts, but what else should I be keeping track of? I'm much less worried about getting into makeup and facing stop loss and more concerned with evaluating my ROI. Truth is, I'd be helping him get back into the game one way or another but I want to use this stake to determine if, given e right horse and circumstances, it's a worthy way to continue the diversification of my cash flow and overall investment portfolio.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Cheers

Thinking about letting some friends stake me without make up but with at least a 5 month agreement from me to play for them for 5 months. What would be a fair split in profits? I was thinking about keeping 70%?? Thanks for your help....

From reading previous post and threads. I think a 60-40 maybe a 50-50 to the staker. 70% is a bit high to the stakee and usually the staker ends up with the higher %

1. Your getting their money without the worry of makeup.

2. It depends on the stakes you are playing at and if you can beat them with an average rate of 15-20hr. Might be higher or lower depending on where you live.

3. They are friends and it is their money that is given to you.

Rule of advice: Do no let money come between a friendship.

WCGrider Great post, have a question I have someone that wants to back be in a 5/10 PLO game the proposition is he will stake me 40% of what ever I buy in so if i buy 2000 he gives me 800 i put up 1200. Rebuy's are the same this is a very live cash game people often buyining in for 500 BB. I don't play 5/10 just 2/5 if I win we split profits 40/60 if I loose 40/60. I'm a winning recreational player just that plays 8-10 hours a week. He approached me today, kind of blind sided me so I started reading your thought positive or negative would be appreciated.

I was just offered a stake in my local $2/$5 game. I am a $1/$3 reg. The potential backer claims he has no other horses or staking experience. I admitted I had never been a part of a deal like this & we agreed to discuss terms the next time we saw each other. I just finished reading this thread & had a few questions regarding a staking arrangement:

We have played together a little but haven't talked much poker. Should I be concerned about why he feels I would be good to stake?

Our room typically only has 1 $2/$5 game running so it would be common for us to play together, which raises some issues, specifically what could be perceived as collusion. What's the protocol for playing a hand vs your backer? What if it's heads up? Multi-way? Also, what if your backer sees you play a hand (that he's not in) & he doesn't like the way you played it?

What if, during the arrangement, you want to play in a game without being staked, be it at the limit you're being staked or another? Is temporarily breaking from the arrangement an acceptable practice?

What about terminating the agreement? Can either party quit at any time or should some sort of notice be given?

As a stakee, what things to I need to be aware of to protect myself from being screwed by a backer?