Adventures In Staking A POY Contender

(WARNING: This is another long one.)

"...a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid." - Captain Jack Sparrow

So, at the beginning of this last POY season I had to make a decision. I had played in the previous three seasons and their Main Events, and I never got very far. I wanted to scale back my tournament play and knew I couldn't dedicate every Saturday to the season. I decided instead that I wanted to buy a horse - a runner who could play every week, play well, and make a serious shot at the title. I made a short list and started making phone calls.

My first choice (who I won't name) hasn't played regularly in a few years. I wanted to get him back into grinding and help him re-establish a bankroll (as well as peeling off a profit for myself). After some discussion he declined, citing a few factors including his tournament rust plus his feeling that he wouldn't be able to dedicate enough time. The next name on my list was someone whom I'd been playing with since well before my CPMG days. I knew his play inside and out, knew he had all the free time in the universe, and knew he couldn't pass up my offer. So, I called Meat and asked if he wanted to be staked for POY IV.

The deal was simple: I would front Meat 100% of his buyins (minus the two tournaments that had already run while I was trying to make this arrangement). When he cashed, I would get 60% of his winnings. When he didn't cash, I would eat the loss. Once I added up the remaining buyins and percentages, it meant that Meat would have to earn 1800 points (that is, cash $1800) for me to break even on the season's worth of buyins (60% of $1800 or $1080). The other benefit would be that if he did crack $1800 anything over that would be profit, plus I would essentially be freerolling for 60% of whatever he cashed in the Main Event. (We agreed that if he won I got to take a picture with the bracelet but that he would keep it).

I felt that this deal was plenty fair for us both. Yes, he was giving up a decent chunk of profit but he was playing with literally no risk to himself. If he busted, then he didn't have to worry about where the next entry was going to come from. There was concern that he might play extra stupid since it wasn't his money, but I felt he was serious enough about being the champion that he would put his best effort into it. I was also taking the risk that he'd have a shitty season (especially since this was the first year he was TD for the games). I put a few ground rules out there for him. When you deal with him on a regular basis you get used to the fact that you MUST spell out SPECIFICALLY what you expect or he makes assumptions on his own. I expected him to play his best game. I expected him to try and squeeze the most profit possible out of the game. I also expected him to go the whole season. I offered him the chance to "opt out" after 10 tournaments if he was unhappy with the deal. He also had the option at the winter break to opt out. He re-signed both times. I also promised that I would not attempt to influence his play or try to make him change his style. He was also free to chop without my approval if it was in his best interest to do so.

There were a few things about the arrangement that irked me. For one, I had initially forbade him to speak of it to anyone else. I was concerned that people might take a more aggressive approach to him if they knew he wasn't playing on his own dime. I also wanted to avoid having other players hitting me up for money. Nontheless, by the end of the first month word was out. I sometimes think that keeping things a secret causes him physical pain. Toward the end of the season, as he approached 1800 points, he started whinging a bit about the split because he knew that over that amount he was giving away equity. He also rankled me when he told me outright that he made a questionable call for his stack (and lost) because "I knew I could make more in the 8 game than if I won the tournament". This pissed me off because (whether he was right or not) he had made a commitment to trying to earn us both money. I also had to repeatedly chase him down for details. He rarely texted me updates on anything. I felt it was common courtesy to text your backer even if you lost and at least let him know what happened. I sometimes had to read it the next day on the board because he would ignore my texts. He also peeled some money out of our cashouts to donate for this or that without checking with me first (not that I object to him putting money in the jar for Elizabeth or kicking Dave $ for supplies). Again it was a matter of courtesy.

Luckily, as the season drew down it became clear that I would get exactly what I was trying for - a free shot at 60% of his Main Event cash. I avoided hounding him about the big game, as I felt he knew what he had to do to get himself to the money. I also stopped in to help with the tournament so he could devote as much time as possible to the actual play. For the two day game I felt he played really well. I think Grayday offering a $500 bounty to anyone who busted Meat on the bubble really fucked us both over. It was definitely on the other players' minds and it made Meat snug it up a lot more when he should have been stealing. It was a shitty thing to do and I am sure it won't be allowed next year. It's one thing to offer a small bounty just to razz someone, it another to try and fuck them over in the biggest game of the year. People like to give Meat shit (me included) but he knows the field better than anyone and he brought his A game. Unfortunately he only made it to 5th. Still, I ended up with a profit on the season (which I am sure wouldn't have been the case if I had been staking myself).

Now that it's over, I don't think that I will end up doing this again next year. For one, chasing after Meat is exhausting. You have constantly be on him about details. He's constantly looking for an edge or advantage in everything and will chisel you on every little dime he can. I think he likes to make things more difficult in the hopes that you'll say "Fuck it" and give in to what he wants. Secondly, although he made it to the break even point this year for me I doubt he can do it two years in a row. Third, I am contemplating a return and making a serious run at the POY title next year since it will be the last year at Dave's (and possibly the last ever). I cannot afford to stake two people for a full season.

So, what's with the Pirates quote at the beginning? Several people asked me why I would stake Meat, and why I put up with his constant haggling. The quote reminds me of him, not that he's dishonest, but that I can count on him to act consistently. He's always going to be this way, but in the end I know he's going to do his best to win. He's not the smoothest motherfucker around, but when it counts he's always showed up.

That's why I consider him a friend.