How to Minimize the Costs of Changing Money

Exchanging money for international poker tournaments can be expensive. You need a large amount of foreign currency, and the rates that casinos, banks, and exchange services give you are never good. If you don't know someone willing to sell you currency, you're stuck paying a significant premium before you even buy into the tournament.

With a few big stops outside the U.S. coming up this month (i.e. Barcelona, Montreal, Monte Carlo), I thought I'd share my method of avoiding the fees associated with changing money. The good news is that there is an independent and reliable way to get large amounts of foreign currency at near-market rates almost no matter where you go, and it involves getting the money you need through ATM withdrawals.