Building the bankroll

There was no World Series of Poker for me this year, and truth be told, even when I did go in recent years it's not like I had a big-ballin' bankroll.

There is, however, the Heartland Poker Tour.

Now compared to the WSOP or the Venetian Deep Stack or any of the various tournaments I've frequented in Mississippi it's fairly small potatoes, but the HPT being held at River City Casino in St. Louis at the end of the month fits perfectly in my current poker situation.

After diminishing freelance opportunities and the increase for other certain needs (such as diapers) my former poker bankroll slowly melted away as that cash was used to pay for needed family expenses. And the truth is I never really separated my poker bankroll from the cash-on-hand fund and would thus spend that money on anything we needed or wanted to do.

So a poker bankroll? I never really had one. It was more of a collection of poker winnings that could be used for any purpose.

Now we're doing the Dave Ramsey thing, and trying to set a family budget and stick to it. Along with that I'm taking what I have as my current bankroll and finally keeping it separate. (It helps to now have a steady job that also pays me enough to allow me to do this.) No money from the bank account goes in the bankroll, and no money from the bankroll goes toward other expenses.

It will help when I get my old Full Tilt Poker money from the good ol' Justice Department -- definitely a bankroll builder.

For now I'll be trying to build my bankroll this month at the HPT. It's got some $200 and $300 tourneys, lots of satellites (my specialty, I think) and a $1,650 main event with plenty of chances to satellite in.

Call me eager to dig in.