A different way to think of your poker bankroll.

[davisrei]

Will read through your post properly but what do you mean by "loss of rule of law"?

Specifically, since it's technically illegal to host US players, we've lost the support of the Attorney General's of our states in dealing with fraud issues. And if action is taken, it's more likely that it will not be in our favor. (Read check blocking or site shutdown). So the threat of them losing US business due to attracting negative government attention is gone. They're already ignoring US law by hosting us.

In other words, who you gonna call? Not the US courts or government.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Specifically, since it's technically illegal to host US players [...]

This is not true. Do a google search and find the summaries of the relevant federal documents. Unless I've grossly misunderstood them (Dammit, Jim! I'm a physicist, not a lawyer) there is no federal law pertaining to online poker.

Summary of the UIGEA:
[It] "prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law."

As you can see, it is not saying online poker is illegal, it is saying IF it is illegal for the player, then it's illegal for the financial institutions assisting the player.

There is no federal law criminalizing online poker. It is up to each individual state, and there are a lot of states (like more than a couple dozen, I'm told), so you might want to look up the laws in the states near you.