Jonathan Little selling Main Event entry on PokerStake for 2.0 markup and selling 39 percent!
Sorry, but this is just highway robbery. He plays the main for $2200 and if he cashes pays investors 39% of whatever he cashes for. Basically free rolling the main event. Nice life! I see a lot of crazy mark ups but this one takes the cake.
Here is the link in case any of ya'll want to invest - https://www.pokerstake.com/staking/serie...
21 Replies
Why is it "crazy"? Seems a fair price.
Why is it "highway robbery"? It's a free market transaction between willing participants without coercion.
In the main specifically he could actually have enough of an edge to justify it. This is probably a better deal compared to what he was offering last year. Last I saw he was buying into the soft events like the main with his own money and was selling action for tough 25k+ events (that he might have a negative average ROI in).
He's a well known figure in the poker world and he has a right to sell at market rates. Even if it's not +EV most people are likely just buying his action for the sweat.
If the mark-up is too high, Little won't be able to sell it. That's how the market works.
If you scroll down on that site, you'll see a player who it appears has never come close to winning a bracelet, or even had a six-figure score, selling 45% of the Main at 1.77.
I have no interest in buying any of this. But as long as people are honest about their results and their schedule, I don't see how any of this is an issue.
Buy it up then Talal. 2.0 is greedy for a guy who's down lifetime in The Main.
how much is his integrity worth? i mean this directly -- it seems being a 'stand up' player/teacher is worth some markup.
No one knows his true ROI in the ME so who knows if this is valuable or not - furthermore variance is so high it really doesn't matter. The good thing in a free market is if the market thinks its too high they won't buy it. EV doesn't even really matter it's just a fun gamble that might be somewhere around break even.
I think he should be able to charge any price he wants. But I wonder if his business is bad.
Unless I'm mistaken, his Hendon Mob shows only one cash in the Main (in 2024, for $45, 000).
It would be very surprising if he has not tried the Main quite a few times - either way it does not look like value to me.
It's a free market, he can charge 5.0 if people will pay it. If it's not worth the price it won't sell. Simple
You are correct. Just as we can post about it when we think he's taking advantage of his "name recognition" to charge an outrageous amount for the privilege of putting him in the main event essentially risk free to him. It's great work if you can get it. I'm just jealous😀
You are correct. Just as we can post about it when we think he's taking advantage of his "name recognition" to charge an outrageous amount for the privilege of putting him in the main event essentially risk free to him. It's great work if you can get it. I'm just jealous😀
Just goes counter to being a poker player. You don't tell fish every time they misplay a hand do you? No you take advantage of it. If someone who enjoys his content feels OK about paying 2x the buy in to get a piece of him then they'll pay it, if not he'll drop the price. Of course you can do it tho. Just like you can sit at the table and tell fish they're supposed to fold turn bc they're not getting the right price with their hand, in a hand you folded pre flop
I agree people saying its a free market absolutely agree, he can mark however he wants
If the mark-up is too high, Little won't be able to sell it. That's how the market works. If you scroll down on that site, you'll see a player who it appears has never come close to winning a bracelet, or even had a six-figure score, selling 45% of the Main at 1.77.I have no interest in buying any of this. But as long as people are honest about their results and their schedule,
Even if he marked up 15% more if his fans want to buy in then buy in which I think he has a large enough rec following that they would absolutely buy a peice of him no matter his markup IMO
I wouldn't buy it at 2.0, but it's a free market. I think a lot of people (especially pros), over estimate their ROI/edge in the Main Event. Yes there are a few players who do some wacky things, but you will have some great players and the past few years, I have seen a few weaker players at some tables (2 weaker players) and a lot of other players that are decent/competent.
I read threads like this then I see someone like Negranu selling select pieces of himself at par and still wonder why people think he is a scumbag.
I have purchased shares off and on of JL'S action over the last two years on Pocket Fives/PokerStakes and I'm lucky enough to have made a profit in the process. His recent posting action is the highest overall I can recall seeing ever. In March he had [Aria Resort] PGT - PokerGO Cup all were at 1.00 or 1.03. This year for the WSOP he has amped it up to basically 1.25 - 1.30 and the aforementioned 2.0 for the MAIN. Personally I was shocked since as has been noted his history in the MAIN is spotty at best. No way in Hades I would pay that much juice but it is the MAIN he has a ton of followers and it's a free world - buy or don't buy. Certainly with the field mix he should have a positive EV but with a mini cash at 150% paying 200% is a true stretch that I'm certainly not willing to invest in if I expect to make a profit. Possibly the cost of listing is higher now on the Pokerstakes site and that might be a small part of his overall inflated pricing but 200% is clearly out of line with the pricing of other "name" players. Good for him if he can get it but it won't be from me.
He is destined for a deep run this year after this thread. I am calling it now. Seems like a nice guy, I would like to see him do well.
He is destined for a deep run this year after this thread. I am calling it now. Seems like a nice guy, I would like to see him do well.
He’s selling 39% at 2.0 markup so $7800. He’s getting in the main for $2200 and has 61% of himself. As several above have stated he can charge whatever he wants and the market will bear just like I can anti sweat him and root for him to again not cash as it appears he’s done every year but two (2006-2025) according to his Hendon Mob.
Maybe he just didn’t really want to play the Main but figured he would do it if he could sell the action at this price. Has he posted about why he is selling action in this way?
Maybe he just didn’t really want to play the Main but figured he would do it if he could sell the action at this price. Has he posted about why he is selling action in this way?
While I can genuinely understand this view (I hate tournaments and paying any amount to play in the ME sounds more like punishment than anything to me), the same cannot be said about Jonathan Little. He is a regular tournament player who has played in the ME multiple times before. I cannot imagine he doesn't WANT to play in the Main Event.
While I somewhat respect JL as an author and I understand and respect the free market in that he can only get whatever multiple of backing the market will bear, I think the ask of 2.0 says more about JL as a person and where his priorities are than anything else. It is disappointing.
Prioritizing a money grab over decency is certainly a valid choice, especially in the society we currently live in, but that just lowers my view of him in general.
Does it really matter if this is +ev or not? You'll never realize true EV given the variance so you're just gambling with a competent player. How anyone can even know if this is +ev or not is debatable as well - my guess is it isn't but no one really has an idea of the true ROI in the ME.
