How Markup Prices Your Edge
Markup is a multiplier on face value. At 1.2, an investor pays $120 for $100 of your action, and their premium is your compensation for being a winning player, for the work of playing, and for taking the variance of the unsold share.
An investor breaks even when your ROI equals the markup premium. At 1.2 markup they need you to run at exactly 20% ROI to get their money back, and they only profit above it. Price above your demonstrable ROI and every package is investor-negative; the field figures that out quickly. The deal calculator runs both sides of the trade for any package, share, and markup.
| Markup | Investor pays for $100 of action | Investor breakeven ROI |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | $100 | 0% |
| 1.10 | $110 | 10% |
| 1.15 | $115 | 15% |
| 1.20 | $120 | 20% |
| 1.30 | $130 | 30% |
| 1.50 | $150 | 50% |
Where the Selling Happens
Four venues are verified as live this year. StakeKings is the standalone marketplace open to US sellers, with wallet escrow and payouts within hours of most finishes; note that its Premium tier advertises a 1.15 markup cap that live listings exceeded the day we checked. PokerStake is PocketFives rebuilt as a GGPoker storefront, deep during GG series and thin between them. GGPoker and ACR both settle in-client, automatically, with no fee; ACR adds the sharpest honesty rule in the business, publishing your real name to buyers on any markup above 1.0. Private sales to people you know settle on trust; a marketplace escrow exists for everyone else.
Settlement, Paperwork, and the $600 Line
Escrow models differ more than markups do. StakeKings pays within 2 hours of most event finishes; PokerStake verifies official results and can take up to 10 working days; the in-client platforms credit backers the moment the prize pays. Read the refund rule before posting: on PokerStake an undersold package refunds everyone automatically, and on GGPoker the Auto Unregister rule cancels your registration with it.
On US-facing platforms the paperwork is mandatory: KYC at signup, a W-9, and a 1099 once your annual profit crosses $600. What you owe on swapped or sold action beyond that line depends on facts about you; take it to a tax professional.
