Most likely you have seen poker players making millions and millions of dollars playing poker in Vegas and other venues similar to Las Vegas, the gaming mecca in the desert. Highrollers bring down millions and millions of dollars and make it seem as if it takes no effort whatsoever. The never ending stream of professional poker players and gamers never fails to amaze the onlooker by how much they can win and how much they can spend. You might assume that some of these high powered poker players are set for life due to winning a few million dollars in these tremendous poker tournaments that attract contestants from all around the world. But even with these billions and billions of dollars, without basic mathematics abilities and restraint, many are broke almost instantly due to bad personal financial habits and personal demons.

 

While there are poker professionals that are very good with their finances, they seem to be in the very small minority, as most poker champions appear to be very irresponsible in their lifestyle and spending habits. These poor habits can be best illustrated by the sight of winning poker players who should be flush with cash begging others for the stake to enter into a tournament poker game in hopes of coming out with a win. While the essential role of protecting your bankroll while gambling can be followed and the gambler can still wind up in the gutter, one would think that the basic economic skills built up by playing poker and wagering on games of chance would equip these users with the ability to make sound financial decisions to some extent, even if that means writing a check to their grandmother and letting her deposit it for them. That seems to be the best trick for those that are less than financially responsible in the real world.

 

It is estimated that at least half of the most powerful professional poker players in Las Vegas enter into these Las Vegas poker tournaments with a stake borrowed from someone else, as they simply cannot afford to stake themselves. These players have literally millions in winnings over the years of their career as tournament poker players. And yet they still cannot effectively manage their finances in order to stake themselves at the next game. This makes for a vicious cycle of the wins and losses that cannot be sustained for an indefinite period of time.

 

New players than learn a lot from the behavior of less than responsible players in this nature. Always remember that your first responsibility is to your well-being and the day-to-day survival on this earth. Remember to follow the rules of your bankroll and only wager one to two percent of your available bankroll at any given time.