When a nation is engaging in war, every resource and tool should be used to achieve overwhelming force against the enemy. -The Powell Doctrine of Overwhelming Force As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have. -Donald Rumsfeld The day Lance Armstrong won his sixth Tour de France, I paid a visit to the bike store. I was worried that my Giro bike helmet was too old to be safely used. As it turned out, I bought a helmet -- the same kind that Armstrong and other professional riders wear -- and a shiny new bike. The bike, a shiny Trek performance hybrid, was from poker money -- a thousand dollars of $5 buy-ins and lucky strikes at NL25 games across the Internet. Every day, it's a great reminder that this poker thing is real. And I'm making money from it. Today, I tell people, my goal is to earn enough for a car. But deep down, I know I'll never unload my bankroll for something like that. My downturn in April taught me that above all else, maintaining bankroll is key. It gets you through those downturns and positively affects your ability to wage war against the fish. Leaks -- a new bike, the rockstar lifestyle of a poker pro, hundred-dollar bills to a cute girl, or even the expenses of life -- are all costly to your bankroll. Your bankroll may not reflect all of your poker profits. But they should be close. Depletion will only keep you from advancing as quickly as you should. Greg Raymer surprised me in June when I asked about this so-called "rock-'n'-roll" lifestyle of young poker pros. The 2004 World Champion basically said that poker is a tough job and things that draw away from your bankroll make it difficult for your bankroll to recover from and living such a life can be a detriment to your poker career. After years of trying to build bankroll, Raymer was serious. Mark and I have stressed the importance of growing bankroll to our crew and I think they're coming along. It's no fun to be in a good game yet as the short stack. Always have reserves! You don't have to bring all your money -- just know how to get to it quickly. Many ATMs have $500 caps on the amount of money you can withdraw from one card each day. So, multiple cards/accounts make for nice troop transports. But the main thing is that having money set aside only for poker helps insulate your personal life from the bumps that inevitably will come from bad beats. I'm not sure if other spoils of poker winnings are in the cards for me. But I am sure that I will keep my bankroll as intact as possible.

Source: Poker Cats