Updated on 22 Feb 26 by
Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Explained: What is makeup in poker?

No not the lipstick and eye liner type, today we explain to newbies what a staking deal looks like when the player is losing.





We have a lot of new players at PokerStrategy.com and we have to therefore remember that a lot of the conversations that experienced players take for granted will sometimes go over their head. So when stories in the poker world come up that only make sense to experienced poker players, I am going to spell out what we are talking about for the newbies.

Staking disputes happen a lot in poker and if you want to avoid a world of pain as a backer or a horse, make all possible scenarios clear before you embark on one. That’s exactly what didn’t happen earlier this month in a very public dispute between Cate Hall and Chad Power. Hall was staked by Power and when she decided to quit playing poker, she did so $60,000 in makeup. The dispute was around whether she was obliged to return the $60,000 in losses, or whether her quitting poker just meant that they both had to concede it was a losing deal.

There are several ways to form a staking deal in poker. One is to sell individual shares into single events, which are treated as one time entities and the slate is wiped clean if it's a loss. Then there are longer term staking deals where somebody is provided an entire bankroll as if it were their own, but if they lose on it they are in a status called makeup.

Makeup is basically the amount that a player who is staked is currently losing by. It is an amount to be recovered by the backer by any subsequent wins, before they both can take a profit. So let’s say I provide you with backing for $10 MTTs on a 50/50 deal and you proceed to lose the first $200 of buy-ins. If you then win $100, you do not take $50 and I take $50, that $100 goes to me because you are still down $100 in total.

However, if you are down $200 and then proceed to win $600, I would take $200 to cover the initial loss, then $200 for my share of the profit, and you would take $200 for your share. This hopefully makes perfect sense to anyone, backing would make no sense at all if the person putting up the money was unable to recoup their losses before a profit was made. 

You are not your own boss

Makeup is the side of poker that new fans of the game rarely see. You would be surprised how many well known players who play in the big live and online MTTs are working off makeup. It is no different practically speaking to being down on your own bankroll, but there are some unique issues that arise, most notably feeling like you are not your own boss.

The issue is that you are beholden to your backer, and it is commonly agreed that the only way to get out of makeup is to either make a profit, pay off the debt, have the backer end the deal or quit poker forever. It is considered a massive breach of etiquette to start playing for somebody else (or own one’s own) while in makeup, because the backer takes all the risk, the horse is expected to show loyalty.

Herein lies the issue between Hall and Power. The people on Power’s side of the argument feel that if somebody quits poker forever, they should return what they lost, otherwise anybody could gamble on a stake and quit if they lose, forfeiting their responsibility to the backer. However, the other side (and I would say, the majority consensus opinion, certainly my own) is that staking is a high-risk venture and backers should be prepared to lose money. If the horse is forced to pay off their losses if it doesn’t go well, then it is a loan not a staking deal (and a very strict loan at that). Horses should feel a sense of obligation if they are still playing the game, but not if they move onto new ventures.

Once again, if you are looking at embarking on a staking deal, map out all the possibilities (especially the bad ones) and get clarity on everything, in writing. If in doubt, ask around on the poker forums of what to look for and what to avoid, the poker world is not short of examples.

What other poker concepts do you hear everyone talk about but you have no idea what they mean? Let us know in the comments:

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Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.