SnGs
600
ABI $42.46
ROI 5%
Winnings $1308.39
Rbk: FTP sng tickets @ value $900; FTP + Edge weekly $203.96; Stars dep. bonus $30+ VPP @ $284.70; PPs $59.89. Total: $1478.55
SnG Profit: $2786.94
Hours 58:35
SnG hourly $47.60
Other earnings (coaching/staking): $1163
18hrs + est. 20 hours contract drafting, negotiation and management @28h total
Coaching/staking hourly: $30.61
Final Profit: $3706.64
Combined hourly: $38.39
I would say this is the first month for a while that I have felt really excited about poker. It's easy to tell when that's the case, because I start having trouble getting to sleep! My results, reasonable though they are, are not the main cause of this. Thanks to Mr paracetamol and Mrs ibuprofen I managed to squeeze out the 600 games I'd hoped for at something approaching the necessary profit margins, although the first half of the month was more fun than the second half (as you can see).
No, What has really got me enthused has been the pleasure of drafting my own bespoke staking agreement from scratch, negotiating the agreement with intelligent pokeristas, and coaching and mentoring them through their respective poker journeys. I think I've been unusually fortunate since I have been approached by the most professional and dedicated set of individuals imaginable.
Being a staker is more than just shipping funds around the Internet. You are in fact taking a level of responsibility for the livelihoods and skill development of those you are working with. It's not something to be taken lightly and I'm trying hard to be as professional as supportive as possible. One definite downside is that, as someone incurably incapable of not looking at my own results, I've added the burden of checking and worrying about other people's results as well! 
Coaching also went well this month, with three new students (excluding the stakees). As usual, they are bright, easy-going individuals who listen patiently to my ramblings and each time I talk to them I realise how much they have taken in and how much improvement they have made. It's a pretty good feeling.
I had a disagreement yesterday with a poker playing acquaintance. Often, and especially when I'm playing in games with lots of few recreational players I say "gg" at the beginning of the tournament. It's a trivial thing but I want the game to be as enjoyable as possible for them (no need to explain why). Well, I got a bit of a lecture from this acquaintance about why this was weird and pointless. I said I would keep doing it regardless so he made a point of blocking my chat and telling me, later on, that I had been behaving like a child all morning (this was because, once he blocked me, I asked other players to say "gg" on my behalf so that he would hear it - which, to be honest, I and they both thought was kind of funny ♦ ). Probably I overreacted and I'm just too sensitive for my own good but to be honest the whole thing left a sour taste in my mouth and I think people often don't realise how much hurt a few ill-chosen words can cause.
On to happier things. Tomorrow we're flying to Alicante for the yearly R&R at the family outpost on the Costa Blanca. As (essentially) a one armed man, I shan't be doing much in the way of swimming. But perhaps I can manage to lie in the sun and use the other arm to lift a cool cerveza up to my lips...
Take care all, and see you soon.
) glgl
