How to Profitably Buy or Sell Action

PokerVIP Coaching• 11,004 Views • on 15/10/16

Learn how to profitable buy or sell poker action from the pros at PokerVIP. We specialize in buying and selling action right here on our own site.

Fancy Taking a Shot? Reducing Your Variance?, Making Effortless Profit?

The number of poker players buying and selling action has grown massively since the online poker boom almost 15 years ago. Whether or not it's for somebody wanting to play a tournament that their bankroll doesn't cover, or a cash game player left with no bankroll for whatever reason wanting astaker to back him until he recovers enough profit to play on his own dime.

Buying a selling action also includes swapping pieces. Maybe you and a friend of similar ability might consider going fifty fifty when you both enter the same event. There's a lot of possibilities.

Why Would You Want to Sell Action?

There are many poker series in a calendar year, both live and online with high buy ins that are outside of the reach of the vast majority of players who follow any kind of bankroll management. These tournaments offer the chance of winning live changing money for many people, and there is also the aspect of people wanting to treat themselves for a one off opportunity. The problem is that the buy ins can sometimes run to unaffordable levels for ordinary people, and yet a player might still fancy taking a shot.

Finding a backer for either whole or part funding can give players the chance to play in a prestigious tournament if somebody out there believes in them. Of course it's far from simple without being able to back up your request for money with a respectable record on a similar level to the tournament you're looking to enter. Backers are looking for a profitable deal.

These high buy in events by their very nature are high variance. The competition will be stiff, and even for seasoned professionals the buy ins will be at the upper end of the norm. So maybe variance is the main concern for a player. Buy selling half of their action the potential hit to the bankroll is greatly reduced, but still the chance of a big score remains.

Of course all this scales down to recreational players who are confirmed winners, and may wish to take some shots at higher stakes without the possibility of crippling their bankroll. A player beating $20 MTTs online can legitimately stand a chance of doing well in the $50 events but there's a big difference in how deep the downswings can go.

Another reason for selling action is if you manage to win a seat for an event where you are expected to be seriously outclassed, but still want to play. You may be able to make a deal offering suitable terms to be able to lock in a decent profit before you even play.

Just think how many people satellite into the WSOP Main Event? If you can sell half of that before the tournament begins that's a cool $5000 payday, and you can still win a boat load of cash.

So How Is it All Done?

There are a few different places to look for a backer. A likely place would be amongst your poker friends who actually understand what is involved. There must be thousands of Skype groups set up for poker discussion today, what better way than to approach people who you already have some kind of a relationship with.

Failing that, the original port of call was the marketplace over at the Two Plus Two forums. Providing you can back up your request with a history of winning there is a chance of success.

There are also some websites which specialize in buying and selling action, such as PokerMarket where well known professionals such as Twitch legend Jaime Staples sell pieces of action for the bigger buy in events.

Once you have found somebody willing to invest in you the main bone of contention will be the mark up, or mark down.

For example, imagine you're entering a $1000 buy in MTT side event at the WSOP. If you are confirmed as likely to be above average inability to the rest of the field them you should be looking to sell for a mark up. $10 would be 1% of the buy in, but a deal offering 1% for $11 would represent your value as one of the better players.

Conversely, if you expect to be one of the weaker players somebody still may take a shot with you if you offer them 1% for $8, a 20% mark down. It just depends on the individual situation. You may need to do this if you are unknown, and can't provide satisfactory evidence of your record, as a live MTT player might not be able to.

Another way to organize your bankroll is to sell a complete package for a series such as the WCOOP on PokerStars. This would usually encompass a variety of buy ins both within and above your bankroll.

On the subject of more general advice, there are a few pitfalls to be aware of when entering into deals such as this.

It's easy to fall into the trap of selling off too much of your schedule if you still have a bankroll of your own. If you are still playing tournaments that you beat well, you're only costing yourself profit over the long run.

Your backer will expect you to behave professionally, and ethically. Keeping in regular contact to give updates is the bare minimum to be expected for longer term deals. It's also important to stick to the agreed playing schedule. I've lost count of the number of times I've heard about players taking shots well above what was agreed.

Keep a spreadsheet such as online Google docs where both parties can check up what the current situation is. Professionalism is everything when keeping your backer happy.

Buying Action

So if there are plenty of confirmed winners out there looking for backing, then there must be an opportunity for somebody to make money from poker without even playing a hand themselves. Investing in poker can be a lucrative low effort way to make money, although I won't deny it can be stressful.

The first point to consider is the trustworthiness of your horse. A sad fact of life in the poker world is that debts don't always get repaid. Dealing with potential candidates online makes it extremely difficult to judge somebody's character. If it is possible to obtain references from other people in the industry then that can help with your piece of mind.

You also need to consider carefully just what level of competition you're going to put your man up against in relation to his recent playing history. There are factors such as why they came to you for backing in the first place. They may have a decent record over the previous few years, but have a crippled mind set due to a recent bad run. This can be fatal to the expected results.

I'm sure I don't need to explain about the dangers of investing money into poker players that you can't afford to lose. Whether they are long term winners or not. The mark up is important too.

Don't feel overawed if a player who appears to be very good approaches you, but demands a high premium. Too high a percentage could make the risk unacceptable.

Final Thoughts

All in all there is some good money to be made as long as you do your due diligence checks. Just don't expect it to be plain sailing, and don't get railroaded into backing players who are dreamers and want to play well above where they deserve to be.

As for players considering looking for a backer; don't appear desperate and get yourself tied into a deal where you've sold yourself short.

Fifty fifty is always a starting point for negotiations; do your homework to be sure exactly what you need to be asking for.

How to Profitably Buy or Sell Action

Fancy Taking a Shot? Reducing Your Variance?, Making Effortless Profit?

Why Would You Want to Sell Action?

So How Is it All Done?

Buying Action

Final Thoughts

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