What to do with some extra money?

[CardMinger]

Hello,

I have built up a decent size bankroll of around 20k by playing poker and doing a little bit of stock trading etc. I am wanting to get into the market a little more heavily and was just hoping to get the opinions of some of the experts around here. I have read the thread on books and ordered a few of those to start. I also guess I should mention that I am 21 years old so its not like this money is critical to my retirement / family or anything right now.

I guess my question just comes down to:

How can I put my 20k of (pretty much) disposable money to work for me the best...and if that method is in the stock market what are some other starting points to consider besides this forum and the books I just ordered?

I know this is quite an open ended question and being new to all of this I may have left out some very important information that you all need so please feel free to ask, comment or criticize.

Thanks a lot for your time and for reading this post!
CardMinger