I get a quick crash course in poker economics. Some players have backing. The specifics vary deal to deal, but broadly, it means that someone fronts you the cash for all your poker playing and you split the winnings. If you keep losing, though, you go into something called makeup, where you need to make up your losses before you pocket any wins. Then there’s staking. People can buy a percentage of your action for the same percentage of your winnings—say, 10 percent for 10 percent. If you’ve had good results, you can sell at markup: someone pays a bit more for the chance to have a sweat, or
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