May Summary

Slowly, slowly, things are turning around.

May produced a $348 profit. Better than April, but still less than the $500 monthly target. Even so, I am quite content, for two reasons.

Primarily, it's always better to win than lose. Secondly, I really didn't have anywhere near enough table time, so to hit 70% of the monthly target was creditable in my eyes.

Most of the profit came from hitting the bonuses on Party and Empire. I also signed up for the Poker Stars reload bonus, and am currently plying my trade in the $25 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo there. There definitely seems to be profit in these games, though I am still finding my feet. They also grind through the bonus pretty quickly.

I made the mistake last night of trying to two table, but ended up with my first losing session. A few beats were on the river, but equally I misread a few boards, or missed some of the drawing options. There's really too much going on for a novice like me to multi table.

I'll persevere with Omaha Hi/Lo to work off the Poker Stars bonus, then might get back to Limit Hold Em. Probably at the 2/4 level, but I am steeling myself for 3/6 at some time in the next few months.

May was also a month with several important events in the Div household.

Mrs Div finished work and is now on maternity leave. The arrival of baby Div draws ever closer! The nursery is almost complete - thanks to a monumental effort by the future grandparents - and the cot and a multitude of other baby related goods have been delivered.

With exquisitely bad timing I also came to the conclusion it's time to change job. I've not been enjoying it for quite some time, but have been hoping it would get better. The guys I work for, and with, are a great bunch, but the work just isn't what I'm happy doing. For the first time in my career, I've been dreading each day in the office.

Not only has it felt like a betrayal of myself, but also a betrayal of my employers. It's a tiny company and it really needs everyone pulling their weight, and my heart just isn't in it.

Things came to a head when I had to fill in my annual review form, in preparation for the actual review.

It reminded me of the 1983 Labour Party Manifesto, which came to be known as the longest suicide note in history. Every answer in every section spelled out for me that things weren't right. Something had to be done. The timing is awful, but the alternative was worse.

I'll probably end up with another job in the same field, though a change of career is always an option. I'm quite into finance, and am renowned among our circle of friends for my financial discipline. I'm forever berating them for their credit card fees, uncompetitive mortgages, or lack of pension planning.

Maybe I could become the Alvin Hall of the poker world? A sort of personal trainer for the financially illiterate. I can see myself shadowing Grubby in Vegas. For a reasonable hourly rate I'd tail him through the casinos, armed with a cattle prod to drive him away from the slots and back to the poker room. He'd save in a day, my fees for the week!

On the subject of poker and finance, Scurvydog and I seem to think along similar lines. He mentioned recently a few things poker sites could do to improve their service and product range, some of which tallied with my thoughts on the matter. I've taken the concept a little further and devised a new poker related financial product. More on this in a future post.

My blogroll expanded a little more today, as I discovered two more British bloggers - one of whom is actually from Glasgow! He plays, and seems to win, regularly at The Riverboat (home of the insane rebuy tournament) and has some news of another two Glasgow cardrooms, so it seems the Scottish poker scene is picking up.