I have always advised anyone who visits a casino on a regular basis to maintain a separate bank account for his or her gambling activities. Money in that account should be earmarked for casino play only. By maintaining a separate gambling account you will always have money on hand when you want to go play. I call it my 401-G.

I also advise that you set up a separate poker bankroll and keep this aside from money you may use for other casino games. Too many players win at the poker table and then blow the winnings somewhere else in the casino. You should make it a habit to put your winnings back into your poker account. This will allow you to have the money needed when you decide to move up to higher limits of play. It is also a good exercise in discipline.

No matter how good a player you are, you will have winning and losing sessions. You need to have enough money in your poker bankroll to withstand any losing streaks that we all ultimately go through.

A good rule of thumb is your bankroll should equal 200 - 300 times the big bet. For $3/6 Hold'em this would be $1,200 - $1,800. If you play in the no limit games you should have about 20 – 30 times your minimum buy in. This figure is your total bankroll, not what you will be taking to the table for a single playing session.

Since it is the beginning of a new year it is an excellent time to get started to build your bankroll and it is really is not that hard to do. You should start building your poker account the same way you do with your other investments.

Many of us have 401-K retirement accounts and have money taken directly out of our paychecks to be deposited into our accounts. This is a painless way to do it as we never actually have the money in our hands. If we had to physically take the money to the bank and deposit it in an account, chances are the full amount would not always get there because of some unexpected expenses. However, with the money taken out of our checks first, we do not really miss it since we never see it. We also remove the temptation do other things with the money.

Many people are getting paid by having their company direct deposit the pay checks into their bank accounts. If your company does this you can easily set up a Poker account and make automatic deposits into your special account.

I suggest you open a savings account at a banking or savings and loan facility across town where you do not have any other accounts. This way it is not convenient to make a withdrawal on the spur of the moment. Once you open the account, all you have to do is to have a set amount directly deposited into this account each week. You will be surprised how quickly it will grow.

If you are unable to open an account and use direct deposit to fund it, there is an alternative that you can use. Go to the store and buy one of those inexpensive plastic banks that are completely sealed. Decide how much you want to save per day. Each morning when you get up put that money into the bank. If you normally buy a couple cups of coffee or bottles of soda each day, cut back by one and put that money in the bank instead. Just saving $2.00 a day will add up to $730.00 per year. So for the price of a coffee a day you can start growing your poker bankroll.

I have maintained a separate account for many years now. All the money I win in the casino goes back into this account, and as it has grown it has allowed me to move up in the limits that I play.

Saving is easy when you have a goal. It is even easier when your goal is to have a fun time playing poker. Start today and you will see how easy it can be.