How to Best Invest First big(ish) Tourney Win

[BigNads79]

So I'm excited to say I won my first somewhat big poker tournament last night. It was an online $30+$3 Rebuy/AddOn, with first place paying ~$5200. My bankroll before this was never bigger than $1200, grinded out at 10c/20c and 25c/50c cash games (mostly the former).

I have no interest in squandering this money away. I have a job and all of my basic needs are taken care of so I can really dedicate all this money to growing a big bankroll and maybe deriving some real income from poker one day.

So I was wondering if any of you all had some advice on how best to invest this money. Currently, my entire bankroll is at one online site that does not support rakeback or pokertracker (but is full of fish). I also have a few hundred dollars in a bank account that I use for low stakes home games.

I think the best idea would be to just start going down the list of US-friendly poker rooms with good deposit bonuses and just grinding away at 25c/50c until I've earned the full bonus. Then repeat until I've gone through all of them and see where I stand. I realize I have the bankroll to play higher than micros, but I really don't want to get crushed by trying to move up to fast. I also live pretty close to AC and I'd like to have some money lying around to play live games.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Rek]

Try blackjack or roulette.

[pzhon]

As you note, having a bankroll for a level that would make an expert safe doesn't make you an expert. You still have to build up the skills. That means you are currently quite overbankrolled. The last few thousand dollars in your account aren't doing much.

It's pretty standard to cash out a large fraction of a big MTT win. Treat yourself and your family to something nice that isn't related to poker. In case you hit a downswing, you can always point to that to say you are ahead. (After one large tournament cash, I bought a nicer diamond ring that I would have otherwise. Guess who won't complain about my gambling?) Also, buy some poker books and software that your might have been putting off buying. Subscribe to one or more of the poker video sites or consider paying for a lesson or two from a coach, which may save you many hours of grinding.

You probably should move some money to other sites which have bonuses, rakeback, and which support PokerTracker, too.

[BigNads79]

[ QUOTE ]
Subscribe to one or more of the poker video sites or consider paying for a lesson or two from a coach, which may save you many hours of grinding.

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker video sites? Are these things worthwile? Can you recommend a good one...

[Vitas23]

Look into cardrunners for cash games pokerxfactor for tourneys. There is coach/poker training forums here on 2+2 that you may want to browse.

[LiveInPeace]

Do you have an emergency fund of 3-6 months income? This is top priority for everyone and should be liquid and very low risk.