getting a stake

the machine · #1 05-07-2007, 04:48 PM

so ive been playing poker for a while now. i play both live and online, but by no means professionally. its more then recreation but my live roll always gets crushed because i use it to pay bills and such since im deep in debt.

so through talking with a friend, who is in the same boat and in need of a roll, he came up with the idea to go to some people his bookie knows and get a loan. the amount for the loan we havent discussed in full detail yet. i suggested 5k giving us 12.5 BI for live 1-2 NL games which IMO is more then enough.

the Vig is 25% giving us a net return of 625 each just to break even over a month. IMO more then doable.

i dont think there is a set in stone way to figure out the RoR on this all but ive broken it down and to break even we need to net a total of 7.80 an hour. to double the total bankroll we need to net 39 an hour. obv anything in between would be ok while we like to lean towards the doubling side.

does this seem like a good idea to do. FWIW my online BR is enough to cover my half should i lose it all, but i have no intention of cashing it out to use for live play because i would have very little left to actually play online with.

our goal would be 40 hours each in B&M play per week, on top of working our regualr jobs, which isnt many hours at all.

100% of the details are not set in stone. Vig might be a little lower or we may have a little more then a month to pay it all back.

yea or nay on current conditions.

mods if this is more suitable in another forum feel free to move

Hoi Polloi · #2 05-07-2007, 05:18 PM

[ QUOTE ]
so ive been playing poker for a while now. i play both live and online, but by no means professionally. its more then recreation but my live roll always gets crushed because i use it to pay bills and such since im deep in debt.

so through talking with a friend, who is in the same boat and in need of a roll, he came up with the idea to go to some people his bookie knows and get a loan. the amount for the loan we havent discussed in full detail yet. i suggested 5k giving us 12.5 BI for live 1-2 NL games which IMO is more then enough...

[/ QUOTE ]
So, just for kicks, how is it you find yourself deep in debt?

I'm thinking it's not such a good idea.

the machine · #3 05-07-2007, 07:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]

So, just for kicks, how is it you find yourself deep in debt?

I'm thinking it's not such a good idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

i think my description of "deep" was a little too in depth. student loans and a few credit cards. this is about 10k.

one thing i forgot to add in to my initial calculations is the rake. i play at foxwoods and 1-2 has no pot rake but a time charge of 5$ per half hour. so in actuality we need to combine for a total of 27.80 per hour between the two of us.

i know we are both +EV in the game. my friend used to beat the 5-5 game on a consistent basis which was the highest game FW spread for a while. he started with 1k and turned it into 6+ playing a very tight game. ive beaten 1-2 for a moderate amount.

figuring in the time aspect of it makes it seem much tougher to just break even though, and i dont know if it is worth the risk [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

*TT* · #4 05-07-2007, 07:50 PM

My recommendation is gamblers anonymous if your even considering taking a stake from a bookie at 25% vig for a 1/2 game. Your too far gone, you really shouldn't be playing if there are these thoughts running in your head.

Sorry... sometimes the truth hurts. Better someone tell you now than when you get your kneecaps broken and your dreams crushed.

the machine · #5 05-07-2007, 08:02 PM

what do you recomend?

lower Vig, just slowly save up money and start playing?

between me and my close friends who all play we stake each other back and forth for teh session at no return for a win but paid in full for any loss. i dont mind doing that but the 200 and 300 dollar wins get quickly eaten up from me using it to pay bills. its tough when work is slow and ur strapped for cash <<<<<< (waiter/bartender)

iggymcfly · #6 05-07-2007, 08:26 PM

Taking a loan with 25% vig for a month is ridiculous for this risky of a proposition. Do you realize that this interest is over 50x higher than a typical credit card over the course of a year.

Also, by borrowing money from "someone your friend's bookie knows", you're putting yourself in a very bad spot should you run bad for a month (very possible, especially playing 20 hands an hour live and feeling financial pressure).

If you're really a winning player, you're much better off just trying to grind up your roll online which will be more profitable at low stakes anyway and cashing some money out to play live when you're feel financially secure enough to do so. If you're not a winning player (or even a very marginal winner), you'll be much happier that you didn't borrow an amount that you have no way to pay back.

*TT* · #7 05-07-2007, 08:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
what do you recomend?

[/ QUOTE ]

I already told you what I recomend, gamblers anonymous. I wasn't kidding, you have a problem if you can't see that a 25% vig will kill you financially, and you put poker in front of your real world problems - like finding a better paying job. Poker isn't what you see on TV, its not the solution to your financial problems. Call me uncle TT if you want because this is a heavy dose of tough love.

emerson · #8 05-07-2007, 10:46 PM

I got this really weird suggestion: why don't you get a job for six months? Poker is not going anywhere. Work 40 hours a week, play 15 or 20. And don't keep moving to bigger games every time you have a small upflux. If you are a winning player, you will have a decent bankroll in 18 months.

Oh, 18 months, I guess that must seem like a hundred years.

MustangMarc · #9 05-07-2007, 11:52 PM

The first law of gambling is:

Do not bet more than you can afford to lose

This applies to any speculative venture, including and especially playing the stock market. Don't buy stocks on margin, don't play poker with someone else's money.

What's the fall-back plan if you loose the loan sharks money?

lostnorcalkid · #10 05-08-2007, 04:36 AM

Seriously consider what TT has said... As a person who has been a problem gambler, I know what it is like to think you can pull out a win and fix everything wrong in your life, but even in a game like poker where you can have a big edge, playing with borrowed money, especially borrowed in the way you are talking about, is nothing but bad news. 1800-GAMBLER will help you out in finding gamblers anonymous meetings near where you live.