Managing a bankroll is all about maintaining a ratio between the stakes and your budget. You must afford to take losses without running out of money. There’s no way to win all the time. Losses will happen. You must adjust the stakes you are playing to the budget you have, otherwise you will be out of dough quickly.

Another important characteristic of a professional poker player is the ability to mentally cope with bad streaks. Most people start doing irrational things when their poker game goes downhill. They start playing looser and more aggressively and some even move up to higher stakes. A professional player does exactly the opposite, he starts playing tighter and he moves down to lower stakes if his bankroll no longer can handle the current stakes. Poker is a game of skill, not a game of chance and players that take unnecessary chances are immediately eaten alive by the sharks. If you want to become rich from poker you must learn how to play poker like a professional first.

There are several ways to do this; buying a book at Amazon (make sure to read the reviews carefully first), Learn how to play poker by taking the poker school at waytoplaypoker.com (highly recommended) and studying the forum at two plus two (also highly recommended).