50/50 is extremely low. even 60/40 is low. consider if you're just backing someone in a money game, lets say you do it for 60 dollars on a 60/40 split, your horse has to win 62.50% of the time in order for that bet to break even. That's why I never understood why people would back others in a money game. even at 80/20 you'd still have to be a 55.56% fav to break even. So unless you're really that much better than your opponent it's not a good bet.
I can't say if it's good for you to back your friend in this tourny because i don't know your payout, if the tourny is handicapped, how many players there are, how good your friend plays etc. but generally speaking, unless your friend has a a significant advantage, it probably wont be a good idea to back him on a 50/50 split, you're very likely to make absolutely no money. it also makes no sense to split 50/50 as you're the one assuming all of the risk. whether this is a good idea or not really depends on how likely your friend is to succeed but thats not something i can answer due to all of the unknown variables. i'm pretty sure that you're an underdog in this though if you decide to go through with it.
one thing to remember too, if you're going to back him, make sure you let the td know or something and have the td verify with the player before play begins. cuz if the td doesnt know, any winnings will be paid out to your friend and from that point it might be hard to get back expenses, he might just give you half and tell you to go away.
