Poker backing deals are probably as old as the game itself. A well-heeled player might peel off a few bucks to back a fellow player, landing a bit of skin in another player’s game.
The practice has grown in recent years to players even seeking some “investment” in online events. GGPpker has recognized this growing trend and made it even easier.
Players on the site can make use of the staking feature to back others on the platform. It’s a simple way to take out a sweat in another player – and possibly win some money without even playing.
What is poker staking and why is it popular?
Those new to the world of poker staking may be asking: why stake other players at all?First of all, there’s some fun that comes with staking some other players.
Backers can follow their “horses” throughout an event to have a fun sweat. Seeing one of those players streamed at a final table makes it even more fun.
Backing another player also offers a chance at some winnings should that player run deep. Seeing a nice score for the player means spreading the winnings around to all those backers.
For a player selling action, backing means minimizing his risk. That player may be able to play in a bigger event by selling a chunk of his action.
GG ambassadors Daniel Negreanu or Felipe Ramos may even seek out some action. A big name player’s score also means some dollars coming the way of those who staked him as well. Regular online grinders can also get in the staking game as well.
“The staking feature on GGPoker is cutting edge and incredibly user friendly,” Negreanu tells PokerScout. “I truly love it. Whether you are looking to buy or sell action, you can do it all very easily in the client and when the player cashes in a tournament, the funds are updated immediately.”
The staking feature has also been popular with poker streamers, allowing viewers to check out their play. Staking also tends to make players focus on their best play with others’ money also on the line.
“You can set your own price, how much you want to sell, and even put a cap on how much anyone can buy,” Negreanu says. “This is really helpful for streamers who want to give fans a chance to have a piece of the action while they watch. I did it regularly during WSOP.”
Staking other players at GGPoker
So how does staking at GGPoker work? The ability to back others is integrated directly into the software and mobile app. Exclusive to GG, this is the first online poker feature to facilitate players buying others’ action.
“It’s very popular and in any given tournament there will be a range of players seeking stakes and others staking them,” GGPoker spokesman Paul Burke says.
The process is pretty simple. Players first just need to visit any tournament lobby to back someone in an event.
The staking tab is found in the lobby of all eligible events. Backers pay a proportion of a player’s entry fee with an added player-defined margin (also known as markup).
Backers pay the full amount of the stakes they buy, which are purchased in increments of 1%. This can decrease to as little as 0.1% for events with a buy-in of $5,000 and above..
Once a stake is purchased, the transaction becomes non-refundable except when:
- the seller subsequently cancels the sale or unregisters from the tournament
- a tournament is cancelled for unforeseen circumstances
Selling action using the feature
Average Joe and Janes can also list some of their own action for sale. Once registered for a tournament, players go to the tournament lobby and use the staking panel to list their action.
After registering for a tournament, sellers set the percentage of their play for sale as well as the markup. Players can value their action as they see fit and sell throughout the tournament registration period. Sellers can cancel a sale at any time during this period.
Once a player opts to sell action, a staking profile page will be accessible to potential backers. The profile provides information on a player’s performance.
Potential bakers can check the history of any player selling action to gauge potential success.
What does a staking deal look like?
Imagine a fictitious player named Johnny GG is looking to sell some action. He’s registering for a $10 event, but some backers might be nice to cover that entry fee.
Johnny then sets how much he’d like to sell in the staking tab of the event lobby. Perhaps he’s looking for backers to cover 50% of his entry at a markup of 2x.
A backer purchases 5% for $1. If Johnny cashes for $100, then the backer receives the equivalent percentage of winnings purchased. In this case, the backer receives 5% of the total payout – $5.
Players can sell up to 90% of their action and there’s no fee charged to players for using the feature. Many in the industry have stressed the need to bring the fun back to poker. GG seems to have done its part to add some extra entertainment to the poker mix.
GGPoker’s staking feature has now moved beyond the traditional notion of poker backing. Players surviving past the first day in phased tournaments can also sell some pieces of themselves.
Staking is now available on Day 2 of some events. This makes following a player’s action a bit more fun as cashing is now even closer.
GG staking success stories
Those looking for some staking action in major events will usually find plenty of opportunities. All 54 of this summer’s World Series of Poker Online bracelet events utilized the staking feature.
The nine multi-day Phase tournaments have also used the recently-introduced Day 2 staking option as well. GGPoker staking has produced some nice scores for players.
The best overall result came during the WSOP Online. GGPoker ambassador Fedor Holz took the title in the $25,000 Heads Up event.
Holz sold 77.5% of his action to 130 investors at a markup of 1.15. Those players bought chucks of between 0.1% and 10.3%.
After scoring $1.1 million, all players won 36 times their investment. That meant a 0.1% stake of $28.75 turned into $1,089. That was certainly a “good game” for backers.
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