[DWarrior]

[ QUOTE ]
Go ahead and don't take any deductions. As you know I'm sure, poker winnings are taxed as ordinary income, not gambling winnings, and therefore you can take any and all reasonable deductions. If you use a halfway decent CPA to do your taxes and keep records of all expenses you should not be paying anywhere near the taxes you would if you earned that money as a salaried employee.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, actually, I've heard if you can prove that you're a professional gambler, your gambling activities will count as earned income (not as unearned income).

As for small stakes full-time, I definitely think it's possible. I've been doing it for 2 months to pay the rent/food in college, and just moved up to $100NL.

Even with my mediocre play, I crunched the numbers and came up with $30/hr off 4-tables, I do it 8PM-4AM EST, so there's your 8-hour shift. There are even good tables up until around 7AM. Rakeback will be at least another $5-$6, so you can realisticly pull $35/hr. If you take care of yourself and play a little overtime you can easily pull 80 gees a year.