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With the World Series of Poker just days away, I thought it was a fitting time of the year to discuss both sides of buying and selling action. First, we’ll look at it from the perspective of the player, and then from the perspective as the buyer.
I have personally been selling action since I first started playing real money, doing so first on poker sites, then on poker forums, and eventually to friends and other backers. I have also bought a lot of action over this time, and am friends with some of largest general action buyers in poker.
Seeing as how I have made my investors a lot of money and have done so consistently for the last 10 years, I feel as though I have a good perspective on this as both a seller and as a buyer, and also as someone who cares about the health of the industry.
Selling Action
As a seller, I believe I have a handful of different responsibilities to my backers and to followers and fans who might be interested in buying a piece.
- Sell at prices I very strongly believe I have an edge higher than or significantly higher than.
- When selling, give an honest representation of how good of value I believe the events to be, and why I believe I have an edge.
- Use the funds given only as agreed to. If changes of any kind need to be made, have them built into package or get agreements from each investor.
- When selling to general public, make sure they understand the nature of action buying, the variance involved, and what type of edge I may have in the event.
- When playing the event, never consume alcohol/drugs, and give an honest effort with regards to focus and concentration, always doing my best to maximize the edge I have in the field for my investors. This includes ignoring how much I have sold, and treating each event with more respect than I would if it was fully my own funds.
- Update investors as agreed upon. If they want proof of playing events (tournament entry receipts), do so in a timely manner.
- When paying investors, do so as agreed and pay as quickly as possible. If I owe people, remind them that I owe them if needed. It is my fiduciary responsibility to be on top of this.
- Always confirm when action is booked, when action is paid for, and when I expect to pay them back. Do so in writing of some kind and keep track of all investors.
Buying Action
When buying action, I have some responsibilities of my own to ensure I am making the kinds of buys I want and uphold any agreements made.
- Do my due diligence in who I am buying action from. How well do I know, trust, respect them? How well do I know their game, and how tough the field is they are playing?
- When buying action, make sure I verify what I am buying exactly, how much, what event, what dates, and make sure action is properly booked.
- Pay what I owe on, or before the agreed upon date. If needed, remind them I owe, and make sure I am fully paid up.
- Always make sure any money sent or received is confirmed by both parties.
- Verify the players play the agreed upon events and uphold their side of the agreement.
- Understand that any action I buy is extremely high variance and that the most common outcome is that I lose the majority of my investment. This is by far the most important part!
This is how I personally decide how to approach buying and selling action. If you do the same you will be much more likely to have a great relationship and better results with your horses or backers.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck at the tables!
Ryan Laplante is a 2016 WSOP Bracelet winner. He has more than $4.5 million in tournament cashes with seven WSOP final tables. His website is PokerProtential.com, and he is a coach for Chip Leader Coaching
