Is this a good plan? Staking a friend, want suggestions

[w_alloy]

I have a friend who was recently moaning about getting a job while in college to pay for skiing. He plays poker rarely and casually, but he is smart, even-tempered, and honest with himself. He has read most of HPAFP casually and understands the concepts. He has also spent a few hours watching me 4 table 5/10 6m and when I asked him what he should do he gave gernerally sound strategy. I think he could be a very good poker player.

However, he doesnt have any money to start (he has all living expenses and college payed for but not much else). His computer is an oldish apple. He needs to be making money by december.

To me this sounds like a perfect opportunity for me to stake him. We grew up together and trust is not an issue. Additionally, I do not know any poker players (besides poor casual ones). TPT is obviously a great venue for everything, but I think it would be nice to have someone who I can talk to outside of the internet about hands, swings, limits, etc. My current bankroll can support staking him.

He said he would be very interested if I made him an offer. As you cant really do internet poker properly on a mac, I also need to buy him a computer (sans moniter).

Any suggestions? Obviously, since he needs to start winning soon, reading HPAFP, SSH, and this forum will be an integral part of the plan. However, i dont want to make him do anything for x amount of time. I can also start him out at any limit and need to decide whether he should play short or full.

My current plan would go something like me buying him a computer for around 600, giving him 500 for an initial BR. I would have him pay me 5% of the money he has over the initial BR every week. Once he builds his BR to 2500 (a good BR for 3/6 6m), he does not have to pay interest anymore and starts paying me back. However, he only has to pay me back 900 instead of the 1100 (this number can be adjusted based on comp cost). This deduction is because my goal is not to make money off him but to help a friend. I will prolly make money, but the primary goal of the interest is to motivate him to play a lot untill he gets to profitable levels.

With his 500 Br, we would play .5/1 6m limit for 200 BBs. At this point he moves to 1/26m. He stays there untill he gets to 1200, when he moves to 2/4 full. He plays this untill he gets to 1800, and then moves to 3/6 6m. I will set loss limits at 250BB for any limit. I will watch him play for at least an hour a week and we will go over eachother's hands and comment on them for 15-30 minutes every day. I will learn from this too. He will start playing 2 tables add them as he sees fit.

Problems: 6m limit is very very swingy, which is a huge problem. But it seems like the softest games out there right now. I also think 5/10 6m is the easiest game to beat for a largish amount, and its better to make the switch to short sooner then later. I thought about having him play full, but 3/6 and 5/10 seem so much tougher and slower then their 6m counterparts. I also thought about having him play NL, but then my coaching would be much much less important, and also the selfish reason of wanting a friend who plays my game.

I went back and forth about adding the 2/4 full step in there, but I think its important he learns full strategy. The biggest adjustments will be pre-flop, and this he will pick up quickly. I also think 2/4 full isnt that hard to 4 table, and this will be good practice. The BR jump from 1/2 to 3/6 would also be hard without 2/4.

Another thing i considered was having him start at a higher limit. I thought about giving him a possibly replenishing bankroll of 500 and starting him at 2/4 full (after maybe a few days of coaching at 1/2 full). His move would then be down to 1/2 6m for a while then up to 3/6 6m. Starting him with a larger BR is also a possibility. With around 20 hours a week, do you think its reasonably that he could get to the established goal by december with the current plan?

I am completely open to suggestions about radicaly different types of staking.

Thoughts, comments, and suggestions greatly apprecciated!