For me, my most recent cashout of $150 from bovada, was because I could use the money for a trip to AC. I have a cashout of $200 scheduled for merge. That will also come in handy for a trip to Tunica if it arrives in time. But mainly, I have never cashed with merge before and I want to see how it goes. For any site than I haven't cashed before, I would do a small cashout first. Then I'll know whether or not to invest time or effort on the site. For example Lock, unless its for fun, there is no need to play there. Even if I do trust a site, I see no need to leave that much cash sitting around. You never know when a sight is going to go under, get hacked, or seized. Unless 5k is a trivial amount for you, why risk it? Plus, many sites max cashout is below that mark. For example, the max cashout on bovada is 3k (for a check) with each additional check within the month incurring of $50 fee. Ideally I would cashout 3k a month, or make so much I'd be forced to incur the fee. But I do need money every month and I'll take what I can get. I'm just happy I'm turning a profit right now.