[DING-DONG YO]

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I talked to my CPA and was told the AMT only applied if you were doing some tax sheltered type of investments or similar things the IRS deems as 'shady.' I'm claiming a net of $72K from poker (so my total winning sessions are much higher) but I'm not required to pay it.

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Your CPA is a moron. AMT has to do with the amount of deductions you have in relation to your income. It is a 100% objective quantative calculation.

I'm a CPA, haven't ever worked on personal taxes professionally in my career and I (censored) know this.

And if you're referring to H&R block or Jackson Hewitt as your "CPA", they aren't. Make sure you understand this people. Block/Hewitt folks go through a month long course. CPAs have to finish college, get a masters and pass an exam that is largely considered tougher than the BAR exams for lawyers and it second only to the medical board exams (but a distant second, I will concede)

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This is correct. I am constantly amazed how often "tax professionals" are wrong about tax information. Most info is relatively easily found if you put in a little time. If you are interested in not doing your own taxes, why not just buy TurboTax? It'll cost you $70, take you an hour, and you can be pretty sure the calculations are right.

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Best post on the subject. Anyone can learn to use TurboTax and you're much better off using that than going to Block/Hewitt, they are crooks and have no idea what they're doing most of the time.