Andy Fezzik said:
Common fees for a hedge fund are 2/20 where manager gets 2% of the principal per year and 20% of any profits. For a $20k (total bankroll) bettor, that means you would shell out $400 in base fees (i.e. spend some time evaluating the capper by purchasing a subscription) and, if he's the real deal, then compute your profit and give back 20% or possibly a bit more - depending on your confidence level - for a more comprehensive set of plays.
Note - some cost shopping is advised. Good to minimize your average cost/pick by taking advantage of bulk dollars and package deals like the 20-pick sets.
This is not an apples to apples since the cost of a package is not determined by the buyers bankroll, nor is an additional cost determined by how much a buyer wins.
The easiest way is to figure out around how many games a capper will release for a season, divide the cost by that number, and that's your cost per pick.
So if someone is $800 and they have 100 plays, that's $8 per play.
If you're a $100 bettor and using standard -110 lines, you're risking 118 to win 92 (-128)
If you're a $500 bettor, you're risking 558 to win 492 (-113).
You can always try to find a place with reduced juice. 5dimes has reduced juice but usually only on game day. Betmania and looselines (Jazz skin) both offer -107. If you were a nickel bettor and played at one of these two shops, you could get the above package and the cost per pick would make each bet come out to -110.