Backer

In poker, the term backer is used to describe a person who provides money for a player to play in certain games.

A backer will provide necessary funds, i.e., “back” a player to enter agreed-upon tournaments or cash games. In return, the player will give a percentage of their winnings to the backer.

There are many different types of backing arrangements in the poker world. One of the simplest examples is where the backer and the player split profits 50/50.

So, the backer gives the player $1,000 to play five $200 tournaments. After playing these tournaments, the player ends up with a total of $2,500 in cashes for a $1,500 profit. The backer receives $1,000 (their initial investment) and $750 (half of the profits), while the player keeps $750 (the other half of the profits).

There are many reasons why poker players take on backers. Sometimes, this allows them to play at higher stakes, and sometimes, it is a way to alleviate variance.

In this day and age, long-term backing arrangements are quite common in poker, and these usually include what’s known as “makeup.” Prior to splitting profits, the backed player first needs to make up for all the money spent on buy-ins.