I never felt comfortable playing with a backer or playing a person that was being backed. How do you feel about these situations?
Backer's
- Thread starter tom mcgonagle
- Start date
What's your rationale for this Tom? Why do you feel this way?
I never liked the fact that I was losing someone's money and that I might be getting second guessed as to what decisions I was making. I just felt better betting my own money.
Unless the backer is a close friend or road partner of the player, I think a lot of weird things can happen when ANOTHER persons money gets involved.
Maniac
This is true. I was fortunate. I staked Gary Spaeth for almost 20 years, but he was my best friend. There were several times that Gary told me, sometimes afterwards, that he was asked to dump, even a few times when he was asked to "catch" when he refused to dump me. Fortunately Gary and I had a good relationship and wouldn't agree to any "business". Once when he was asked to catch, he asked me what I thought about it and I told him, first off it was the wrong thing to do, second he didn't need anyone to dump to him, just get out there and beat that SOB and we'll get all the money.
That being said, there's always been a lot of talk about dumping in pool. IMHO it's mostly just talk. I don't think it happens nearly as often as people seem to think. There are a few players who are unscrupulous who have been given pool a bad rap about such things.
I was also fortunate in that Gary, often would refuse certain games I really wanted him to play, because he said they were just too tough. He cared more about losing my money than I did!
Definitely not just talk.
Especially if you happen to have heard the conversation going on about the dumping. Or seen the people meet up after the match and split up the money.
Especially if you happen to have heard the conversation going on about the dumping. Or seen the people meet up after the match and split up the money.
I LOVE playing with a backer .
Beats the livin' h_ll outta losin' my own money all day long :thumbup: . . . and they're frontin' for food & motels even when you lose . . .
just gotta win enough to keep them around - that's the hard part.
And if you start to have conscience issues concerning the idea of gambling with their money , just think of them as the pimp , and you as the whore - they're making a livin' off your talents.
Beats the livin' h_ll outta losin' my own money all day long :thumbup: . . . and they're frontin' for food & motels even when you lose . . .
just gotta win enough to keep them around - that's the hard part.
And if you start to have conscience issues concerning the idea of gambling with their money , just think of them as the pimp , and you as the whore - they're making a livin' off your talents.
I've been on both sides of this situation and honestly I have no issue with it either way. I've played someone for money and made sure the cash was posted and saw them getting the money from someone else ... I could care less as long as the bet was posted.
I've also been in a situation where I have backed better players, to me it is no different than betting on a horse at the track ... you just think you have a good bet. It's gambling plain and simple, it's like playing a scratch off lottery ticket as you ultimately have no impact on the final result. If you don't mind playing slot machines then backing someone is just betting on something where you hopefully control the odds a bit better.
I've also been in a situation where I have backed better players, to me it is no different than betting on a horse at the track ... you just think you have a good bet. It's gambling plain and simple, it's like playing a scratch off lottery ticket as you ultimately have no impact on the final result. If you don't mind playing slot machines then backing someone is just betting on something where you hopefully control the odds a bit better.
Oh, didn't see this bit ...
Here is the thing ... I would just back the player and go about my business. If he won the set and made me money, great! I would never look over his shoulder second guessing his shots ... if I felt I could be shooting better why the heck would I be backing him? As I said in the above post, it's like betting a horse or buying a scratch off lottery ticket ... let it happen and hope you win. If you have a good player, which I hope you would if you were putting your money behind them, then just hope to collect your money at the end of the set.