♠ Poker staking guide
How to get staked in poker
Getting staked means selling a percentage of one tournament, or one series, to people who then own that percentage of whatever you win. It is not a loan. Nobody is owed anything back if you bust, and nothing carries forward to the next event. You take less variance, they take a piece of the upside, and the deal ends when the event does.
The part most guides skip
Nobody funds a stranger on a good pitch. They fund someone whose last few deals are visible and whose last few settlements happened. Your first listing is the hard one, and the way through it is to sell a small piece at a low markup, report the result whether it is good or bad, and pay out fast. That is the whole trick, and it is slower than any shortcut anyone will sell you.
What a backer can actually see about you
On Pebel a profile shows four things, and this is the whole list. There is no score, no badge and no rating to grind.
01
The verified checkmark
An identity check, and nothing more. It says Pebel has seen an ID that matches the name on the account. It says nothing about how you play or whether you pay.
02
Backers who confirmed settling
A count of the deals where a backer actively pressed confirm after you paid them out. Silence never counts. A deal nobody confirmed is not on this number, which is the whole point of it.
03
Results reported
Of the events that are certainly over, how many you logged a result for. It appears once you have at least three settled events. Backers read a gap here as a habit, not an accident.
04
History on Pebel
Total cashes, biggest cash and ROI from the action you sold here. It is your own reporting, shown with its source, not an audited record.
All of it is based on user confirmations and is not independently verified by Pebel. That caveat sits under the numbers on every profile, including yours, and it is there because it is true.
What you are actually selling
A percentage of a named event, priced as buy-in times markup times that percentage. The markup is your premium, and it is the number backers argue about, so it is worth understanding what it costs them before you set it. At 1.4x, the event has to return 1.4 times its buy-in before anyone backing you is even, so a markup you cannot defend is a markup that gets your listing skipped.
Selling your action on Pebel
How do I sell action?
Create a listing for either a single tournament or a series. Set the percentage you're selling and your markup. It appears in the listings for backers to find. When a request comes in and you reserve the share for that backer, they pay you the full amount before the payment deadline shown on the listing and mark the payment as sent (Pebel does not verify or process the transfer). You confirm the payment was received. Pebel records that confirmation, and the stake is active: the agreement is treated as active under the locked terms.
What markup can I set?
Anything from 0.50x to 5x. Below 1x you are selling at a discount, above 1x you charge a premium, and 1x is selling at cost. If Pebel refuses a markup above 5x, the buy-in is usually set too low. Once a backer has reserved or activated a share, the markup and the minimum buy are frozen for that listing; the only thing you can still adjust is the percentage for sale, never below what is already sold.
Do I have to accept every request?
No. Requests come to you, and you decide which requests to accept and how much, decline anything you don't want. Reserving the share for that backer means: they pay the full amount before the payment deadline and mark the payment as sent. Pebel does not verify or process the transfer. You confirm the payment was received (Pebel records that confirmation), and the stake is active under the locked terms. Once you've reserved a share it's held for that backer until the deadline: you can't take it back at will, only if the listing had a material error or the event is cancelled. If it's still unpaid at the deadline, you can cancel it and nobody owes anything.
How do settlements work?
When a tournament finishes, mark it as played and enter the cashout. For series, settle each tournament individually, played with result, or skipped (Pebel calculates each backer's refund; the player pays it directly). Pebel generates a settlement message per backer with all the math done, and each backer can confirm receipt so there's a clear record for both parties.
Why isn't my listing showing in the marketplace?
The public marketplace only shows listings from players with the green verified ✓ and a public profile. Without the ✓ your listing still works exactly the same through its own link, your invite link and your profile, it just is not browsable in the marketplace; verification is free under Settings, Verification. A listing also leaves the marketplace when every tournament in it is decided, when its last start date is more than a day old, or when it has sold nothing for a week.
The checkmark, and what it costs
How do I get the verified ✓ on my profile?
The fastest way is automatic verification, free for every account: an ID document and a selfie through Stripe, done in a few minutes under Settings, Verification. Pebel never sees the images. There is also the manual way, equally free: open Settings and use Request verification, add your real name and a public link that shows who you are (like your Hendon Mob, Instagram or X), plus an optional note. Pebel reviews each request by hand, so give it a little time. Either way you get the same green ✓, it confirms your identity, and it never guarantees payment, since settlement is always direct between people.
Is Pebel free?
The deal is always free. Listing action, requesting a share, confirming, paying, reporting results and settling never cost anything, and Pebel never takes a cut of your deal. PRO is an optional membership that supports the platform and adds visibility, tools and a little status on top. If anything else ever changes, we'll be upfront about it well in advance.
List your first tournament
The deal is always free, and Pebel never takes a cut of it. Payments are arranged directly between you and your backers, outside Pebel.