Bankroll Management

I've been thinking a lot about Bankroll Management lately. The most likely reason is that I have not at this point determined what I will stake my 'return' bankroll with. See, Over the last 6-9 months, my play online has been largely for fun and recreation. Don't take that to mean that I didn't play seriously and continually try to improve my game. However, my play did not have stated purpose (build bankroll to X$, make X tournaments, etc., etc.) My play was just because I like the game and purely because I wanted to play. Because my play was casual, my investment in myself was just the same. If I wanted to play in a $20 tournament, I would put $30-$40 into my account, and play the tournament and a SNG or two. This was good fun for the one night, but without a bit hit in a deep tournament, this strategy was highly unlikely to lead to a bankroll swell.

Back to now - I have loosely set some goals for my poker play. They aren't ready for publishing as of yet...I will do so in good time. However, one goal that I do have is to play in the 2011 WSOP.

To accomplish my goals, I feel that I need to stake myself to a decent bankroll and add a level of discipline and focus to my game that has been missing. Don't flippantly sit at a table or play in a tournament or SNG when I have only 10% attention to pay to it. Track my play, study my hand histories, trends, etc. - and try to become a better overall player.

Still not sure on the # for the bankroll. It will be a very conservative number...but one that I think that I can meaningfully devote my (little) spare time and energy to building.

Feel free to post thoughts on your bankroll management strategies in comments...