Re: Bankroll Definition and Recommendation for No-Limit Hold \'em
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If you buy a stock and it goes up but you don't sell it, you don't pay tax on the unrealized gain. That "gain" in a stock you never sold when it was up can turn into a loss just like a "win" of chips not cashed in can turn into a loss. 100% certain on the stock angle - first hand experience. How/when/why is an UNREALIZED gambling gain taxed? Is the treatment different if you file as "Professional Gambler" versus not? (Pretty sure answer here is yes but again, ask a professional, not me.)
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You must see a difference in these things. In the case of a stock, say it went up $2,000,000. You may not have cash to pay the tax on that, so it makes sense that they carve out an exception for unrealized gains for stocks (and some other things too). In some cases, the stock may be tied up and not easy to sell without dropping the price significantly.
In the case of casino chips or online $, that is readily convertible to cash.
If you received a check from your employer, would you think that tax is not owed on it until you deposit/cash it? Obviously that is not true, and I think most would agree that poker winnings are closer to this than they are to unrealized stock gains.
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