Getting Staked

It's strange how different phrases have such different meanings in various subcultures. Fans of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and related Joss creations have a clear definition of what it means to "get staked". (As far as I know, that's the only vampire myth to use that phrase.)

In the poker world, we have a quite a different meaning for it. Namely, "to have a financial backer for your poker play". So, in that sense, this past week I was staked. A friend who has played many hours of poker with me decided, based on my post where I practically begged for it and other follow-up conversations, to put forward some cash to allow me to move up limits back to where I used to play.

Most people would see the deal as a bit egregious. My backer agreed to match 50% of my bankroll ($1,500), so that I'd have a full $3,000 bankroll. In return, I agreed to pay 33% of all winnings back to him, with no time limit, until I've repaid a total of $2,250. In essence, one might see it as paying 50% interest on the loan, which seems a bit much.

But, the advantages are that I have no time limit. This is very important in poker, since there is no way of knowing when you will hit your big score. The cards eventually run your way; just as everyone has bad runs, everyone has good runs too. But it is impossible to predict when; one can only say that it will happen eventually in the proverbial long run.

Also, I don't need to pay off too much of my winnings. The last time I had a backer, I had to pay around 80% of my winnings, which made it very difficult to build my own bankroll. I ended up keeping the backing longer than I should have needed it, because I had to play so much to get my own bankroll built. Under this arrangement, I can use up to 66% of the winnings to build my own bankroll.

So, I'm happy to be playing $5/$10 limit and $1/$2 blind, $200 buy-in NL/PL again. I'm winning, albeit only $150 in the last week, but being net positive since the backing started is a good thing. I hope the good run continues so I can happily give my backer his first dividend this Sunday.

One great thing I've noticed is that my confidence level has gone up a great deal. The idea that someone has watched my play and has decided that he wants his money in that action makes me much more confident than usual in my game. My previous backer didn't know anything about poker. He gave me the backing because he had the money to spare, and wanted to do me a favor. This time, it's a financial transaction based on the idea that I've been observed as a winning player. It's a great feeling.

My blog entries for a while will likely be somewhat short. My job remains hectic and I want to get as many hours in at the tables so I can keep the cash-flow to my backer going each week. But, I will post interesting hands, and brief updates on how the games are going.