Bankroll management: Opening rant

As a relative minnow in the poker pond, it boggles my mind to hear tales/rumours about high-profile pros like Mike Matusow and T.J. Cloutier going broke.
Such stories are incredibly common – the phenomenon is the product of the challenging variance of poker, and an inability on the part of individuals to effectively manage their bankroll. Case in point: Jean-Robert Bellande (pictured above). The former Survivor contestant’s brutally honest tracking of his bankroll swings has earned him quite a following on Twitter. His handle is @BrokeLivingJRB, which offers a hint at his loosey-goosey financial philosophy.
On the face of it, winning at poker seems much tougher and more intellectually challenging than managing the spoils of victory. But it’s the opinion of many winning players that bankroll management is as important, if not moreso, than mastery of the actual game itself.
So . . . If poker is a skill game, and I believe it is, shouldn’t there be a corresponding way to skillfully manage a bankroll?
I say yes. My basic bankroll philosophy is hardly exclusive to poker. It’s essentially the same conservative style of money management that my parents drilled into me as a kid. Basically, it amounts to “Don’t spend money you don’t have.”
It sounds obvious, but our society’s relentless refusal to apply common sense and fiscal prudence is at the root of the current economic downturn. Folks in developed nations tend to have a sense of entitlement. If they can’t afford something, they simply put it on their credit card, expand their line of credit, or borrow against the equity in their house. We have a standard of living we envision and believe we deserve, and we’re determined to get there by any means necessary.
That last paragraph may have been a bit of a digression from the poker-bankroll theme of this post, but I tend to believe that society’s warped financial mentality can’t help but grease the skids for poker players on the way to the poorhouse.
I realize I’m rambling a little bit. So I’ll break this bankroll rant into three parts. Tomorrow I’ll tell the story of how I built my bankroll, and offer some general guidelines for poker players the following day.
One big qualifier: It’s probably true that it’s easier for a recreational player like myself to manage a bankroll. I’m not dealing in massive sums. But I feel like I’ve got some solid bankroll fundamentals, so take ‘em for what they’re worth.