For most of us, playing in the World Series of Poker is just a pipe dream. After all, playing in the WSOP requires booking a flight to Las Vegas, staying there for the duration of the tournaments you play in, and having to front other expenses along the way. Oh, and on top of all this, you also have to pay the tourney buy-ins as well.

But don't let this crush your WSOP dreams because there's a much cheaper, more cost-effective way to participate in the world's largest poker event - staking players.

Basics of Staking

Because of the variance associated with poker tournaments, many players like to get staked so that they're not constantly risking their own money. In a staking arrangement, a number of people will back a poker pro in exchange for a portion of their winnings.

For example, if a pro is going to play in the WSOP Main Event, which requires a $10,000 buy-in, they might sell 50% of their action. What this means is that people can buy a collective $5,000 of the player's action and, in return, earn 50% of the profits. Many poker players rely on staking to keep their careers going since tournament variance can be tough.

Markup

Some of the more skilled poker pros will sell shares of themselves at a markup. For example, a player might say that they're offering Main Event shares at a 10% markup. So if somebody wanted to buy 20% of the action on the $10k buy-in, they'd need to pay $2,200, rather than $2,000.

The reason why pros charge a markup is because of their skill level, hours/days spent in the tourney, and expenses (food, hotel). And many stakers are willing to pay these markups to get a piece of somebody with a proven track record.

How to stake Players

Okay, so by now you may be wondering how you get a hold of a top pro to stake them. Well a good place to start is through twitter. Many players like to offer shares through their twitter account, which makes this an excellent place to look. You can also check out a pro's Facebook page or their personal website. If a successful player has a website, you can often email them to inquire about staking too.

So as you can see, there are plenty of ways for you to back players in the WSOP and make some money. And even if you don't have a lot of money, you could still back a player for as low as $100. Just be sure you know something about the player that you're staking!