Ok, so I am probably being naive here but are some people getting paid by the on line sites to play multiple tables and therefore numerous hands to encourage play? Is it spelled shill? LOL.
There are generally two ways a poker player can be paid to play by the house.
A "shill" player is someone who the house believes is so skilled that the player plays with the house's money. The shill player would either keep a certain percentage of their winnings, or be paid an hourly or per hand rate. (Or some combination of these things.) Players playing as shills is, I think, extremely rare these days.
Confusingly, "shill" is also internet lingo for someone who is excessively promoting something.
Far more common is a proposition, or "prop" player. This sort of player plays with his/her own money and receives some form of payment for their play. Sometimes it is an hourly rate, or rate per hand (or raked hand). Sometimes it is paid as a percentage of rake (either actual rake paid or table average rake). Anyone who is getting a "rakeback" deal, or is clearing a deposit bonus is technically (although, loosely speaking) a prop player.
Why would a house employ a prop player? (Or more rarely, a shill.)
Often a prop player must conform to certain table selection rules as they play. One of the main reasons that prop players are employed is to keep tables from breaking. A prop may be asked to move from a full game to a short-handed game with the goal of keeping both games running, rather than having one of the tables break. Sometimes an online start-up site will hire props (or, less formally, offer rakeback deals to any player) simply to populate the site.
Any winning poker player can profit from playing multiple tables. The vast majority of people who play multiple tables are not prop players, so I would not infer that someone was a prop (or shill) player simply because I obvserved him playing at multiple tables.
On the other hand, would it be wise for a prop player to multi-table? In many cases it would. If a prop player earns $X per table per hour, he could make n*$X per hour playing n tables (less some amount of hourly EV which represents the fact that it is more difficult to play more than one table).
Yes, didn't mean to confuse the terms, was being somewhat sarcastic. Thanks for the info it was interesting and I learned something. For my own piece of mind though, until I get better, it might be wise to avoid sitting at tables where multi's are involved.
Comments
A "shill" player is someone who the house believes is so skilled that the player plays with the house's money. The shill player would either keep a certain percentage of their winnings, or be paid an hourly or per hand rate. (Or some combination of these things.) Players playing as shills is, I think, extremely rare these days.
Confusingly, "shill" is also internet lingo for someone who is excessively promoting something.
Far more common is a proposition, or "prop" player. This sort of player plays with his/her own money and receives some form of payment for their play. Sometimes it is an hourly rate, or rate per hand (or raked hand). Sometimes it is paid as a percentage of rake (either actual rake paid or table average rake). Anyone who is getting a "rakeback" deal, or is clearing a deposit bonus is technically (although, loosely speaking) a prop player.
Why would a house employ a prop player? (Or more rarely, a shill.)
Often a prop player must conform to certain table selection rules as they play. One of the main reasons that prop players are employed is to keep tables from breaking. A prop may be asked to move from a full game to a short-handed game with the goal of keeping both games running, rather than having one of the tables break. Sometimes an online start-up site will hire props (or, less formally, offer rakeback deals to any player) simply to populate the site.
Any winning poker player can profit from playing multiple tables. The vast majority of people who play multiple tables are not prop players, so I would not infer that someone was a prop (or shill) player simply because I obvserved him playing at multiple tables.
On the other hand, would it be wise for a prop player to multi-table? In many cases it would. If a prop player earns $X per table per hour, he could make n*$X per hour playing n tables (less some amount of hourly EV which represents the fact that it is more difficult to play more than one table).
ScottyZ
http://www.pokerforum.ca/forum/index.php?topic=5732.0