Backing...

[Talking Poker]

I have a "friend." He's a poker player, and he's pretty good. He's not a pro, but he can hold his own in most any game. He's certainly better than the average amateurs he plays with, live and online. It's not often he finds an amateur who is clearly better than him. He does, of course, but not all that often. Could he regularly hang with the top pros of the game today? Not every day - they would eat him alive - but in his limited experience with them to date, he's fared fairly well.

So... on to the situation at hand. This friend of mine may have found someone to back him in the WSOP. Personally, I think this is a good move for the baker. Sure, it's not as good as backing one of the top pros in the game would be, but those guys don't need backing - either because they already have backers, or because they pay their own way in. My point is, I believe backing my friend is a +EV move.

The details of the backing haven't been negotiated yet, and my friend wants to come up with a deal that's fair to both parties. Does anyone know what the "standard" arrangement is? I think I know, but I don't want to give bad advice. I'm under the impression that the backer pays 100% of the entry fees/expenses/etc, in exchange for 50% of the winnings.

But I'm wondering if that's correct, or if it's really 50% of the profits? In other words, does the backer recoup all his expenses first and THEN they split what's left over, or does he eat the costs out of his half of the winnings?

It probably varies from player to player, but what info do you guys have on the subject?