tax question- filing as a professional and self-employment tax

[ActionJeff]

I obviously need to speak to an accountant, but here it is

I have to pay something like 15.3% self-employment tax to file as a professional poker player, which is a very healthy sum. As a U.S. citizen and resident, is there any way around this? Could I state I am a student and poker is a hobby, and still be able to deduct losses/ just pay taxes on my overall profit, without the self-employment tax? Any ideas on this?

Commentary from any other professionals or players deriving a lot of income from poker would be appreciated- there have to be some tricks that I'm missing here that save a lot of money.

-Jeff