[Smurph64]

Great post Aaron. I have made a lot of bankroll posts in the past because I think it is the most mismanaged skillset of many poker players.

I have to say I am probably in a unique position versus many of the micro players on these boards so that is probably why I take bankroll management issues to heart so much more than most.

I am disabled with very little chance of being able to ever work a full time job. Luckily I have a good family, will have a home completely paid for in August, and am getting a pension of $2600 a month for living expenses.

Poker is a hobby for me that does a few things: It keeps me from going completely bonkers with coping with pain and fatigue, it is an opportunity for me to contribute to our family again and its first and foremost fun and challenging.

I have made many bankroll errors in my 2+ years of playing. I cashed out once after moving up too fast and losing half my stack so that poker became 'free'. I then cashed out again because I needed the money for some expenses and lost my motivation to play as I wasn't having fun anymore.

I left $5 in just in case and after taking 4 months off, I decided it was worth playing again. That was 7 months ago.
I am currently playing good games between .50/1.00 1/2 and 2/4 6 max at FTP and a bankroll of $900. I also am currently playing some other games to both improve my play and break up sessions so they remain fun.

After 2+ years of playing, over 200k hands of 'money' poker, 500k hands of play money poker, 20+ books in my poker library, hours of reading and posting on these boards and just recently adding 6 months of time to be a member at deucescracked I can now confidently say that I will be able to play $1 6 max limit for the rest of my life.

A year and a half ago I could say that at the 10 cent level. I have very strict standards by which to judge my level of comfort because of my situation. Essentially I need 921 bb of a stake where I can beat it 99% of the time at 1bb/100 profit with a deviation of 20. At 6 max $1 limit I need 218 bb to beat it 99% of the time at my current win rate and deviation. At 1/2 I haven't made a profit yet so no bankroll will cover me here. So I will continue to dally along these levels as long as my bankroll is above 218 dollars.

Rakeback and bonuses can keep you playing at levels you may not be able to beat so moving up prematurely is probably something that strikes a lot of microers.

I set my bottom bankroll to the requirements of a pro because essentially that is what I have to consider my poker risk to in order to justify playing at all.

While above my bottom I play up to two levels above but I have to establish a new bottom before I move up again. I also play other games like NL and Horse and tourneys and stuff to keep poker fun.

While my long term goal is eventually being able to establish an 'income' that offsets my pension, that is a long way off.

It is doubtful I will ever be able to play more than 10 to 15k hands in a month. If my bottom remains capped at $1 6 max limit (and I hope it doesn't) then I have to be content with that.

Nevertheless, poker is great if I can have fun and enjoy the experiences I have with it as a hobby that pays me to play.

Knowing I can do that is a pretty good accomplishment.