[Sciolist]

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this could be a real problem for me, as i'm a british online poker pro, so spend in pounds (which are strong) but earn in dollars (which are weak and weakening), and also have quite a bit of money on poker sites in dollars (not loads by high stakes players' standards, but enough that a collapse would be painful for me). how likley to people think a collapse (or just a fairly dramatic decline over the next few years) is? there are sites where you can play in pounds, instead - do people think this is a sensible precaution to take?

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Late last year I had a bad day, losing 10 buyins. I took a week off, as I normally do when annoyed with poker. During that week, the USD fell a lot vs. the GBP and I effectively lost a further 4 buyins. I went on bankroll tilt and cashed it all out and started over. That was dumb - $300/hour down to playing $25 NL, and I'm still not close to playing $600 nine months later (I don't play that many hands).

So, don't panic/tilt. However, I would suggest you consolidate and only play one site. You should make it a site that you can easily cash in and out of, preferably with minimal conversion fees. Then take out everything but 20 buyins, and obviously put more money in as need be. The exact number of buyins you leave in there and the frequency with which you fund your account depend on the fees for funding it.

Put your new money in an instant access savings account. There're a couple out there in the UK that offer > 6.25% and have no withdrawl penalties. I pay top rate tax and still end up +£100 per month as a result, you are probably paying no tax at all and will get the full 6.25%. Profit.