What is Swapping? Why Do Poker Players Swap With Each Other?
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Last month, PokerNews brought you news of a 'swap dispute' between 2022 WSOP Main Event champion Espen Jorstad and Greece's Alex Theologis.
Theologis was alleging that Jorstad had agreed a swap of 3% in the Main Event, although neither party could find any record of a swap being agreed.
Many readers will be familiar with the concept of swapping in poker tournaments, but for those who aren't aware, we spoke with professional poker player and 888poker Ambassador Ian Simpson for a brief explainer.
On the Espen Situation
Simpson is a trusted member of the poker community, with results dating back well over a decade. The 2013 Irish Open champion joined 888poker in May 2022.
I trust Espen, I've known him a while. I'd be flabbergasted if Espen was wrong
Simpson and Jorstad know each other — they are both former Unibet Poker Ambassadors — and he says he would be flabbergasted if Jorstad was wrong.
"For gamblers — our word is our bond," he told PokerNews. "We don't know what's happened or of the guy was mistaken or whatever. The paperwork doesn't happen as much as it should for this kind of thing. Because it can fall through the cracks, even in the biggest event there is.
"Having the paperwork removes the human error that can occur. I trust Espen, I've known him a while. I'd be flabbergasted if Espen was wrong, but there is a chance he's mistaken, we're all human."
Espen Jorstad Wins 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000
Swapping Reduces Variance
Swapping in the WSOP Main Event is not unusual. The buy-in — $10,000 — has remained consistent since 1972, and many players will choose to swap in this event in particular in order to reduce variance. Simpson says there are very clear reasons why.
"Firstly, it's $10,000. And secondly, it's an 8,000+ player field," he explained. "There's a complicated formula called the Kelly Criterion for bankroll management, where if you put the buy-in and the field size in it tells you what bankroll you need.
"And it's a lot more conservative than people think. So for something like the Main, it's sensible to swap and sell and not play for $10,000."
Swapping is a way of reducing variance in tournament poker.
So if the bankroll management requirements to play in a tournament are significant, players may choose to swap. But what exactly is swapping?
Poker Bankroll Management: An Introduction
"Swapping is a way of reducing variance in tournament poker. Professional players usually do it in order to split their investment into multiple places. For example, if people are swapping in the Main Event then they don't have all of their eggs in one basket as it were."
Why Choose to Swap?
Simpson says that although some poker players may choose to swap for financial reasons and to reduce variance, others do it as an extension of the social aspect of poker and for fun.
"Especially if someone's a recreational player. I've seen big names do swaps with recreational just as a bit of fun to give them a sweat. It can be for bankroll management, it can be a variance management thing but also it can just be a nice thing to do."
In this year's Main Event, Simpson says that he only swapped "a little bit" and kept the number of transactions to a minimum in order to avoid any chance of it going wrong.
"I've had a bad experience with financial transactions in poker, so I tend to keep my money all on my own for the vast majority of the time because of that. Obviously, I've spoken about bankroll management, but with the Main Event, I do that once a year. The rest of the time I'm a bankroll nit!"
Three Things to Keep in Mind When Swapping
We asked Simpson for three simple tips that players should keep in mind if they were considering swapping with someone in a poker tournament. Here is what he came up with:
Don't Swap Too Much
"You still need enough of yourself that you still care about the event. Because if you swapped down to having 5% of yourself in a $1,000 tournament then it's like you don't even care about the event."
Pay Up
"Pay up and pay up timely. Because your reputation is really, really important in poker. Make notes. Don't just do it mouth to mouth. Make it crystal clear in your WhatsApp chat or wherever you keep track because it can be ambiguous."
It's OK to Say No
"It's okay to say no to swaps. It is your money. Especially if you're a professional poker player, it's your business. If someone I didn't think was very good wanted to swap with me, it would literally be me giving them money.
"It can be awkward if a friend who isn't very good says 'Hey do you want to swap 5%' because then might have to say no. If they're good enough to sell at 1.1 and you're good enough to sell at 1.5 then that's not really a business swap. That could be a fun and/or variance swap. Three reasons to swap: fun, business and variance. And you have to balance all three."
