Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 4675
OK so I have a friend who has offered to stake me into the $215 Sunday Million game on Pokerstars. I have known Brian for years and he is a great person. The problem is I know he really can not afford to do this. Brian is hurting for cash and wants me to play in Sundays game and the 2 of us will split the winnings 50/50.
I have played this tournament 5 times and a have cashed in it twice. I would love to play it again and help my friend out but if I lose he cant afford another cash hit right now. I am not working because of a physical disability, so if I do not make the money I can not afford to pay him back the entry fee.
Brian claims to be cool with this gamble but as a friend can I really risk his money knowing his in a bad spot and needs money.
What would you do. I know I am good enough to play the turnament as I have cashed in it before, but would it be wrong of me to do it on someone else's dime when I know it could hurt them if a loss occurs?
Thanks for your imput.
Ronin Harper
Edited by RoninHarper (16 November 2012 @ 11:27 GMT)
Joined: Nov '10
Location: Serbia
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 2087
Well, you need to make clear with him that you dont take responsability if you lose no matter how. If case here is that you are better player then him and he wants to try to test his luck and give himself better chance for winning something then go ahead and play as long as you make clear that first thing that I sad. o, if he needs big amount of money and he wonts to try to win it by gambling then you should do that. He would try rullete or something anyway. BUT, if he doesnt understand how likely is that he will lose money, or if he thinks that you are better then you acctually are, then decline offer. You dont need to ruin frenship over one poker tourney.
Joined: Dec '11
Location: Germany
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 163
this seems like a quite bad spot for you, its nice that you care about your friend and do not simply take it.I would say its better to not push you into this as it could be i think difficult for both of you. I think it would aswell affect your gameplay in that tourney while being staked from a friend that truly needs the money. You would be playing under pressure, perhaps being way too tight i dont know. I wouldnt be ashamed to actually use your intuition and how confident you feel etc. I hope i helped atleast a little but honestly i think its too hard for us (people on forums) to give a perfect advice in such situation. So i wish you and your friend all the best. Peace mate
If i was in your spot i would take 215$ and instead of sunday million i would play couple lower buy-in tournaments and increased my chances of hitting something. This way you are gambling and you put additional pressure of cashing on you and that usually means you'll play worse. You need at least some kind of br management especially if you NEED some cash. Win some lower then play million next weekend.
Had similar experience on medium buyins when i got staked (i play micros) where i cashed less than i should cause i played smallball kinda scared knowing we need some cash. Said to myself i wont repeat that cause it was frustrating later on watching what chances i've missed cause of it.
Better you win lower than being last ITM in million.
Joined: Aug '12
Location: Slovakia
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 688
I think Its all on him. He is for sure adult person so he can realize all risk and that he can loose everything... So If he wants to give you money for tournament and you think you can win something you should do it. I will wish you best luck
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
i think both of you should understand that staking has nothing to do with friendship & vice versa. if both of you are ok with that then go ahead with the deal. in other words- ask your friend if he would stake any other guy with similar background to yours (cashed in the tourney a few times, solid reputation etc.)...
Posted by RoninHarper: OK so I have a friend who has offered to stake me into the $215 Sunday Million game on Pokerstars. I have known Brian for years and he is a great person. The problem is I know he really can not afford to do this. Brian is hurting for cash and wants me to play in Sundays game and the 2 of us will split the winnings 50/50.
In fact you are accepting $107,50 gift from a friend that can't afford it. Personally I would at least give him a better split; e.g. only accept 50/50 for anything you win over $2000; anything below that is 100% his. But then again I don't care about the money, and it's still a big gift to you.
Even then I would discourage any "gambling" with money he doesn't have. If you must, then I agree with xdomagojx, and try to manage this bankroll a bit, with playing smaller events; that way you can still bail out if it's not going well.
Joined: Apr '11
Location: Romania
Age: 58 (M)
Posts: 2432
The general rule of gambling is:'' Do not gamble money that you can not afford to lose''.Anything can happen in a tournament,your game will be affected by the money issue.Better thing to do is to build your bankroll,Sunday Million will be every Sunday
Joined: Mar '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 1646
i wouldn't like to take him up on this offer. its putting immense pressure on you because you know you need to cash. so you will not be able to play your normal game. i would go down the route of playing smaller buy in tournies. or better yet why dont you play some tournies on i-poker. the fields are way smaller so the chances of winning the thing are much greater.
if you do decide to take him up on it just make sure he realises that your more than likely not going to cash in the tournament. what is it like, 10% of people cash??
Joined: Nov '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 67 (M)
Posts: 3361
i think you would be better off playing some smaller stakes tourneys rather than spending it all in one go.that way you will have more chances to win and i think there wouldn't be so much pressure on you to cash.as you would have a few chances to do that. Mind you i wouldn't be spending my last $200 on a poker tourney if i needed the money, gl to you with whatever you decide.
Joined: Jan '11
Location: United States
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 3361
All these posts about staking is making me want to find a trustworthy player which is a member here in BRM and ask administration to cashout my Mobpoints to this person. Once I find this trusting individual, allow him or her to play with it in an agreement to deposit a percentage into my Carbon account.
I don't know if this is allowed, but it's becoming a potential opportunity for me and someone else to win some money with the free money BRM points are worth.
Joined: Jan '10
Location: Indonesia
Age: 60 (M)
Posts: 1875
Posted by teddybears73: i think you would be better off playing some smaller stakes tourneys rather than spending it all in one go.that way you will have more chances to win and i think there wouldn't be so much pressure on you to cash.as you would have a few chances to do that. Mind you i wouldn't be spending my last $200 on a poker tourney if i needed the money, gl to you with whatever you decide.
Agree, since you have confidence you have chance to win at another small buy in or get ticket from satellite. Just discuss with him to try smaller deposit. Someone ( pro player ) told me : don't use 'scare' money. just make you can't play your best.Anyway, maybe his idea can help him so you need to help him. Good luck
Joined: Nov '12
Location: Canada
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 4675
Greeting's Everyone.
Thank you all for your imput on this issue. I have really given this allot of thought and I have decided to turn down my friends offer/ Plea to stake me into the Sunday Million. I have told him that I do not feel right about allowing him to stake me with money I know he can not really afford to lose.
I told him I would not want my friend to endure extra hardship if I were to lose. He was upset with my decision. I guess I can not win for losing on this issue eh
I feel I made the Honorable choice but i still feel like crap
Joined: Jan '09
Location: Italy
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 3871
Posted by RoninHarper: Greeting's Everyone.
Thank you all for your imput on this issue. I have really given this allot of thought and I have decided to turn down my friends offer/ Plea to stake me into the Sunday Million. I have told him that I do not feel right about allowing him to stake me with money I know he can not really afford to lose.
I told him I would not want my friend to endure extra hardship if I were to lose. He was upset with my decision. I guess I can not win for losing on this issue eh
I feel I made the Honorable choice but i still feel like crap
You did the right thing imho I guess your friend will understand it in the future
Joined: Sep '12
Location: India
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 335
I feel you made the right choice of turning down the offer . . as i read all the posts i felt the suggestion of taking the buy in and play it in low stakes was a good idea anyway and even though if you had decided to take a chance you would have played in a lot of pressure situation which is not recommended ... anyway i feel you made the right choice
Joined: Jun '10
Location: Belgium
Age: 51 (M)
Posts: 1457
Posted by RoninHarper: Greeting's Everyone.
Thank you all for your imput on this issue. I have really given this allot of thought and I have decided to turn down my friends offer/ Plea to stake me into the Sunday Million. I have told him that I do not feel right about allowing him to stake me with money I know he can not really afford to lose.
I told him I would not want my friend to endure extra hardship if I were to lose. He was upset with my decision. I guess I can not win for losing on this issue eh
I feel I made the Honorable choice but i still feel like crap
I read this post from tthe start and was thinking (before your 2 nd post) "I hope he turns down this offer"
You can loan money to your best friend (if you have it of course) and even make sure it s a fair amount. But playing poker with your friends last money (and buy-in that you can not afford yourself) is the worst thing to do.
If your in financial trouble find help and avoid taking risks with the few money you have.
Mostly these risks turn out the wrong way. Keep your friend away from this and that s the way your showing him that your a really good friend
If you wanne win money with poker, jsut use a no deposit bonus here and try to make some money there (if you have a lot of time it s not so hard by playing stricty to some basic rules and bankrollmanagement)
Posted by Greenmohave: All these posts about staking is making me want to find a trustworthy player which is a member here in BRM and ask administration to cashout my Mobpoints to this person. Once I find this trusting individual, allow him or her to play with it in an agreement to deposit a percentage into my Carbon account.
I don't know if this is allowed, but it's becoming a potential opportunity for me and someone else to win some money with the free money BRM points are worth.
Post your msn in pokerstars home club wall so i can add you if you are interested. I have couple stakes so when i finish with that i m interested. Cheers.
Thank you all for your imput on this issue. I have really given this allot of thought and I have decided to turn down my friends offer/ Plea to stake me into the Sunday Million. I have told him that I do not feel right about allowing him to stake me with money I know he can not really afford to lose.
I told him I would not want my friend to endure extra hardship if I were to lose. He was upset with my decision. I guess I can not win for losing on this issue eh
I feel I made the Honorable choice but i still feel like crap
It's always tuff being stuck between a rock and a hard place and doing the right thing doesn't always make matters better in the short term. Be proud of your decision, in the long run all those concerned with see it as correct and under the circumstances just. It is unselfish and that makes it honorable.
Thank you all for your imput on this issue. I have really given this allot of thought and I have decided to turn down my friends offer/ Plea to stake me into the Sunday Million. I have told him that I do not feel right about allowing him to stake me with money I know he can not really afford to lose.
I told him I would not want my friend to endure extra hardship if I were to lose. He was upset with my decision. I guess I can not win for losing on this issue eh
I feel I made the Honorable choice but i still feel like crap
You made the correct choice.
Personally if I were you I would suggest a smaller stake and maybe grind away at some of the BIG tournaments. The $5.50 one is mega mega soft, and can give you a nice payout if you run deep.
Anything up to $11 would give you a nice payday if you hit big and it doesn't cripple him either.
That way at least he doesn't commit more than he can afford and you don't feel as guilty for refusing his kind offer.
edit : You could always suggest something like the Micromillions $22 main event. $150k to the winner. Yes its a crapshoot, but nice if you hit it big enough.
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
yeah i too think you made the right decision- maybe your friend feels disappointed for now, but i think with time he will understand that you did it for him- and in the end cherish your friendship even more. btw tell him that when he hits jackpot he doesn't forget that staking offer yeah obviously he can stake you for lower tourneys or with you quest to $10.000 in 2 years. gl
yeah obviously he can stake you for lower tourneys or with you quest to $10.000 in 2 years. gl
