A trend that has really come to fruitarian with the 2009 WSOP is the art of staking. Now of course staking players has been around for years and some people have made a lot of money out of it. Some however are only getting into the swing of staking and as such as heading to the paddock and end up backing a donkey.

Where can I stake poker players?

There are quite a few poker staking sites that are popping up all over the net. I would however stick to the well established ones, the other advice I would give is remember the 3 R’s read, read and read some more. Remember good poker players on the forums want you to back them, they want to do well and share in the good times. Some however just want to play in the big ones and try their luck to end in the money by using yours, so reading up on the players is paramount to success.

How do I stake poker players?

Most staking happens on the major poker sites such as pokerstars and Full Tilt, there are of course are others that cater for many other poker rooms and networks. After you have checked out the stats, reviews and have a general feel for the player you want to stake, its time to buy-a-piece.

A player will sell stakes at set percentages and cost and it is up to you to decide how much you want to stake. This can range from as little as 1% to the full 100% stake and everything in-between. Using your account you select the amount and then choose to transfer the funds across to the player, this is either done via depositing to the site or a transfer option on your poker room account.

So how do I follow my staked poker player?

Any good staked player will post a rail summery for you to follow, this is normally on the sites forum. They will post the starting hand of the tournament, maybe a few big pots and if the worst happens they will post the busted hand history to the rail forum. This keeps the player and the staker’s in constant contact and if you are able to rail the table live this is also an option. (If you are going to rail check with the player first, as to many people spectating the player can get a little daunting. In some examples observer chat has been used improperly and has caused poker players to tilt and bust out early.)

If it is a live event that the stake is for the poker player can use twitter to send out updates of their position, stack sizes and big pots they are in. If you are following the action via twitter don't tweet the player back while they are in play it could go against a tournaments rules same as mobile phone usage etc.

Can I really make money staking poker players?

If you have the energy and time to put into reading players stats, looking at form and have an eye for a winner then yes you can earn some money this way. However remember if you stake a player and they lose there is no getting your money back, think of it as backing a horse they win, you win and if they lose....you get the picture.

If you are still interested in staking poker players, check out our top 3 staking sites and good luck with your stakes.

Our favourite 3 staking sites are:

1 - Chipmeup

2 – Staking at Part Time Poker

3 – Stake a Shark