IRS changes my 2005 taxes to 'pro', charges me self-empl tax

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As for leaving it as is, you would still be able to use the standard deduction. Your winnings and losses go on a separate area of the 1040, I believe section A. You list all your income and expenses for a business.

In my opinion, being labeled as a professional is preferred especially if you plan on doing this for a while and actually make a good amount of money doing it. You can/should set up a corporation and have a SEP IRA setup for retirement planning and tax purposes. You can contribute 25% of your net income(business) up to $42,000. Alot better than the relatively small IRA contribution amounts.

Spend the money and sit down with a CPA. Make sure he understands gambling taxation. Alot of scary threads on here about CPA who don't know their @ss from their elbow with gambling income.

Also, don't forget this: http://www.onlinepokerfaq.com/guide/tax-fbar-90221.html

That link also has good tax info in their. Click around.
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