Plain-English definitions of the words you'll hear when you get staked: makeup, pre-chops, ABI, ROI, rakeback and 28 more.
Also called: average buy-in
The average amount a player pays to enter the tournaments they play. A player whose schedule mixes $11, $22 and $55 events might have an ABI of around $25. Backers use ABI to judge what stakes a player is used to and how big a bankroll they need.
Also called: selling action
A share of a player's result in a tournament. "Selling action" means selling percentages of a single event to investors, often at a markup. It is a one-off deal, unlike long-term staking, where a backer funds all of a player's games under a contract.
Also called: investor, staker
The person or stable that puts up the money for a staked player's games. The backer takes the losses while the player is in makeup and gets their share of the profit once makeup is cleared.
The money set aside only for playing poker. Tournaments swing hard, so MTT players need a big bankroll compared with their buy-ins. A staked player plays on the backer's bankroll instead of their own.
Also called: BRM
The rules for which buy-ins you can afford given your bankroll, so a normal downswing doesn't wipe you out. In a staking deal the backer sets these limits through the approved schedule.
The cost to enter a tournament, such as $22 or $109. Part of it goes to the prize pool and part is the site's fee (rake).
Also called: contract buy-out
Ending a staking contract early by paying an agreed amount to the backer, for example to start playing on your own money. At Pocarr a buy-out is possible, and the terms are written into the contract.
Also called: profit chop, settlement
Splitting profit between player and backer once makeup has been cleared. Most deals chop at the end of each month, after which makeup goes back to zero.
Lessons, hand reviews and study help from stronger players. Good stables coach their players, because a better player makes more money for both sides. At Pocarr, every staked player gets coaching, videos and a private forum.
Also called: deposit
Money a player puts down at the start of a deal as security, held by the backer and returned under the conditions in the contract. Not every stable asks for it. Pocarr sometimes asks newer players for one, always with written terms.
Also called: staking contract, staking agreement
The written agreement that sets the deal: the profit split, how makeup works, which games and stakes are allowed, how long the deal lasts and how it can end. Pocarr contracts typically run 12 to 18 months.
Also called: DB review
A coach going through a player's hand history database (for example in PokerTracker 4 or Hand2Note) to find leaks: spots where they lose money compared with how they should play.
A stretch of losing, often a long one. In tournaments even winning players can go months without a profit, which is a big reason players get staked: the backer carries those losses.
Also called: expected value
The average result of a decision if you made it many times. Good players make +EV decisions and judge themselves on them rather than on short-term results.
Also called: game theory optimal, solver
A strategy that can't be exploited, worked out by software called solvers. Players study solver output to fix their leaks, then adjust to how real opponents play.
Also called: HH
The text record of every hand you play, saved by the poker site. Tracking software reads these files so you and your coach can review your play.
Also called: staked player
Slang for a player who is backed. The backer "owns a piece of the horse" in every tournament they enter.
Also called: Independent Chip Model
A way to turn tournament chip stacks into real money value. It explains why you should play more carefully near the money and at final tables, where busting costs more than it looks.
Also called: in the money
Finishing high enough in a tournament to win a prize. ITM% is the share of tournaments where a player cashes, usually 12 to 20% for MTT players.
A habit or spot where a player regularly loses money, such as calling too much on the river or defending the big blind too little. Fixing leaks is the main goal of coaching and database reviews.
The running total of losses a staked player has to win back before any profit is split. If a player loses $3,000 and then wins $5,000, the first $3,000 clears makeup and only the remaining $2,000 is split.
A premium charged when selling action in a single tournament. At 1.2 markup, 10% of a $100 buy-in costs $12 instead of $10. It has nothing to do with makeup, despite the similar name.
Also called: multi-table tournament
A poker tournament with many tables that keeps going until one player has all the chips. Big fields mean huge swings, which makes MTTs the most common format for staking.
Also called: advance
An advance on a player's share of future profit, paid while they are still in makeup. It is added back to makeup divided by the player's share, so on a 50/50 deal a $500 pre-chop adds $1,000. That way, when the $1,000 is won back and split, the backer gets their $500 back.
Also called: deal, percentage
How profit above makeup is divided between player and backer. The standard deal is 50/50, and stronger players may start higher.
Part of the fees (rake) a site gives back to players, as cash or rewards. Deals differ on whether rakeback pays down makeup or is split. Pocarr splits rakeback with the player even while they are in makeup.
Also called: return on investment
Profit divided by total buy-ins, as a percentage. A player who paid $10,000 in buy-ins and won $12,000 back has a 20% ROI. Tournament ROI swings a lot, so it only means something over a big sample.
Also called: volume
How many tournaments a result is based on. Tournament results swing so much that a small sample says little, so backers look at a player's graphs and database over a meaningful volume along with how they play.
Also called: approved games
The tournaments, sites and buy-in levels a staked player is allowed to play. Players usually move up as results and skills grow.
Also called: staking stable, poker team
A group or company that stakes a roster of players, usually with coaching, study material and a community. Pocarr is a stable with 250+ players.
Also called: backing
When a backer pays for a player's games in exchange for a share of the profit. The backer takes the losses, and the player repays them out of future winnings (makeup) before profit is split.
Also called: percentage swap
Two players trading a percentage of each other's results in the same tournament or series, such as 5% for 5%. It cuts variance for both without any money changing hands up front.
Also called: swings
The short-term luck in poker results. In tournaments it is huge: a winning player can lose for months, then win a year's profit in one deep run. Staking moves the risk from the player to the backer.
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Pocarr stakes and coaches 250+ MTT players. See how it works, or work out a deal with the makeup calculator.
