While there are many good reasons to start playing poker, we all know what the biggest draw to the game is: the chance to make big money, real fast. Obviously not everyone is successful at doing this though, so some people are forced to find alternative means of cashing in on poker. And one of the big ways that people are making money with poker is by staking players in tournaments and cash games.

In fact, many people are finding that the process of paying a player’s tournament and/or cash game fee is even more profitable than playing the game itself. Here’s a look at what poker staking is, how far it has grown in recent years, and what you can do to get in on the action.

What is poker staking?

Poker staking, or poker backing, involves one or more investors putting up a tournament fee or starting cash game stack for a certain player in hopes of the player winning. If the player does win then the profits will be distributed among the investor(s) and the player according to the original agreement. Many players who get backed are known professionals, although lesser known people can get staked online. 

What the Internet has done for poker staking

The act of backing poker players has been around almost as long as the game itself so when poker staking began hitting the online poker scene it was nothing new. However, the Internet has done wonders for poker backing since it has cleared up a lot of the old fears associated with staking and it has also made the business available to a wider audience.

Up until the early 2000’s, almost all poker staking was done in live play so the only people that could get in on the action were those who had direct access to the players. And for those hoping to be backed, you either had to be a top notch professional player or have friends who knew you were good and were willing to take a risk. In essence, poker backing was really an exclusive industry where only the big names played.

Fortunately, poker staking has taken to the Internet in recent years with various websites springing up to bring players and backers together. Now, as long as one has the cash, they can get into the world of poker staking after spending just a small amount of time on the web. Another positive of online poker staking is that people don’t have to worry much about getting ripped off since players and backers are required to sign documents stating they will abide by the agreement set forth.

How you can get into poker staking

As mentioned before, poker backing wasn’t the easiest thing to get into before the advent of online staking. However, the whole game has changed now since you can just search for a site that lets you back poker players and sign up for their services.

Some places won’t even charge you to use their site if you’re just backing a player. That’s because most of these sites make their money by charging listing fees for players looking to get staked by backers. But a listing fee is really a small price to pay for those who might never get backed in the first place if it wasn’t for these websites.

The future of poker backing

If poker staking never changes, it will certainly be alright since online backing is as popular as ever right now. Of course, there are always people looking to find a niche in the industry and some have found it in private website staking. This differs from regular backing because private websites feature a handful of investors looking to attract a stable of skilled pro players rather than a bunch of backers and those looking to get staked. 

What these sites do is provide their players with a certain amount of funds each day, or week, and the players will then try to make a profit with their funds. Once the funds are out, a player will not receive anymore for a while so it’s important that they make due with what they have.

Profits are normally split 50/50 and the best players are given more funds to start with by the website.  This type of poker staking has yet to catch on in a wide capacity, but it could become a much larger force in years to come.