Poker Players and Staking – Pros and Cons

Playing staked has become a regular occurrence in all sorts of games, from the online micro-stakes to the highest live games. From the players’ perspective, being staked certainly has many advantages, but there are also downsides to this model, some of which are often overlooked by those looking to get staked. This article will try to highlight both the positive and negative sides of these deals; the ultimate decision, of course, resides with you as a player.

Pros

Financial freedom

This is the most obvious positive aspect. By getting staked, you are entering a mutual agreement where one party promises to provide funding while the other party pledges their time and commitment. In most instances, you will no longer have to worry about your poker bankroll.

Moving up in stakes

Many backers or staking stables will provide their players with the ability to move up to higher stakes when they feel they are ready. The promise of moving up quickly is often very attractive and the reason why many players decide to join a staking plan, but there will be more talk about this in the Cons section.

Support of fellow players and/or coaches

For the most part, people in the staking business back more than one player (or ‘horses,’ the term often used to denote a staked player). Usually these players will hang out in a Skype group, sharing their thoughts, experiences and offering support to each other. Some backers will even offer private coaching to their players to help them advance quickly.

Sense of achievement

Playing poker for a living (or at least seriously) can be a very lonesome experience, and if you are playing lower stakes, a sense of achievement is often difficult to reach. When you are playing backed, there are people who will recognize your results regardless of the stakes you play and provide acknowledgment in the form of encouraging words or moving you up to new levels.

Cons

Restrictiveness

While financial freedom may sound great, don’t have any illusions about it – it comes with responsibilities. Very often, when entering a staking agreement, you will accept that you will not play any games outside of that arrangement. This may be a good thing if you lack self-control, but it also means that your options become limited. Sometimes backers will be reasonable to your pleas, but often you will have to accept the fact that you will be playing the same game(s) for a while.

Obligation

One of the main reasons many players decide to go with poker full time is to have more freedom. While playing staked will not completely negate that freedom, it will seriously restrict it. The staker-stakee relationship is similar to that of a boss and employee. Depending on who stakes you, that idea of freedom may look somewhat different than you had originally thought.

Pressure to perform

It may seem at first glance that staking will help to relieve stress or pressure, but the majority of staked players will feel the pressure to perform at one point or another. Downswings are an integral part of poker, no matter how good you are, and during a prolonged downswing you can start feeling like you are letting your backer down, which can influence your game and your overall happiness.

Vicious circle

Your backer may have told you that you would be moved up based on your play, but the reality is, most backers will not move you to the next level if you are in the hole. Even if the analysis of your game demonstrates that you are playing well, until you are back in black, you will probably not be moved up. This can cause you to feel depressed, your original plans will be postponed, and poker downswings can be brutally long sometimes.

Competition

This one could go to Pros as well, as the competition may push you to give more effort. However, for a lot of players, seeing others doing well while they are stuck in a rut will have an adverse effect. You may start feeling like a lesser player, questioning your game even if there is no reason to.

Decrease in profit

In most staking deals, you will only get 50-60% of your winnings. This is an important factor when making a decision about being backed, especially if you depend on your winnings for important real-life things. Don’t kid yourself; your win rate will not suddenly go through the roof just because you are being staked.

Conclusion

I spent a lot of my playing days under different stakes. I had some great backers, some not so great. Overall, I can’t really complain – it helped me develop as a player for sure. But I also experienced some of the unpleasant situations mentioned above.

If you get deep into the hole, it becomes harder and harder to find the motivation to play, knowing that you can’t even touch the money before all losses are restored. While this is, of course, perfectly reasonable and logical, it is not so easy to think straight when rent is due and you feel locked into a deal that doesn’t seem to provide much breathing room.

This article is not intended to turn you away from staking. I have focused more on the downside because so many people focus on the upside and often forget some of the Cons involved. Playing staked can be a great and fulfilling experience, one that you will come out of richer in both money and knowledge. But it carries its burdens, so you may want to consider these as well before making your decision.

As always, for any questions or comments, I’m available on my Twitter or email at editor@pokertube.com.