[rohjoh]

Just read the link above, and for someone that makes a decent income outside of poker, the extra income they make in poker could cost them more than they win...

For example if you make a mid to low 6 figure income, and then make $10,000 playing poker, the IRS does not look at it like $10,000 in profit, they look at it as total winnings, minus total loses. So, you may have won $130,000 and lost $120,000 to get to that $10,000 figure. Now you factor in a $200,000 a year income, and you are looking at some serious tax implications with AMT, and being in the highest tax bracket. Your income went from $200,00 to $330,000, and even though you will be taxed on the difference, the IRS still looks at total income of $330,000 for things like AMT. Once you hit AMT a lot of the normal deductions go out the window. This does not even mention the 15% the state of California is going to want! For those that plan to just report there profit, if you get audited, you may be in for a suprise.
Below is a quote from the website.

"The bad news is, the $130,000 you must declare in gross income is going to cost you. First of all, while you can deduct the $120,000 losses, your other deductions will be limited. For example, medical deductions are allowed only so far as they exceed 7.5% of your income, so you have just lost 7.5% of $130,000 = $9,750 in medical deductions. Even deductions like mortgage interest phase out as your income gets higher. You might find you owe the dreaded AMT (alternative minimum tax). You may also lose eligibility to make deductible contributions to IRAs, or to contribute to a Roth IRA at all. All this for winning just $10,000 during the year."