Does the IRS get weirded out if you have a bank account just for poker

[MikeR]

Hey y'all, I didn't make any money playing last year, but I read books, tried to keep accurate records, reviewed hands, and so far this year I'm in the black, and I think if I don't play above my bankroll (didn't have one last year, just played when I had money and donked it away at limits too high) I should be on my way to a profit this year.

Now that I have money building up I wonder if it's wise to just keep it all sitting in a poker site, or even my epassporte account. I'd be more comfortable if it was in a bank, but I don't want to keep it in my normal account because I don't want to have to keep track of what's bankroll money, and what's real world money, and I don't wanna be tempted to spend it on a whim, or by accident.

So my question is this. Do banks get weirded out if you have an account just for poker, where you're only making cash deposits for the year (via money taken from epassporte card via atm)? Is this flagged to the IRS? Not that I wouldn't pay taxes on it at the end of the year, but I just didn't know if they'd audit you or get suspicious or something.

So anyone have a bank account just for poker? And how has that been working out for you? Thanks.

[jamazon]

A lot of players do this. I don't think they will "weird out."

[Dazarath]

I have a separate checking account just for poker, but I don't use it in quite the same way that you do. It's always empty, and I link it to my Neteller account. The reason for this, is that I don't generally trust foreign operations, especially in this industry. I don't feel like giving them my routing/account number for my actual checking account. The banks do seem to get a little weirded out by my second account (at least Wells Fargo does), but I always say it's because PayPal requires a checking account to get verified, so I wanted an empty account for that. Which is true to some extent; I don't trust PayPal much, either.

[MikeR]

Maybe just a seperate savings account which I can transfer to my checking for immediate online buy ins, and to store bankroll?

[Sniper]

The IRS doesn't care how you choose to allocate your finances between your accounts. They just care that you report all your income (and deductions) accurately and completely!

[sm1030]

This is a good question in the original post and the replies bring up some good points.

For one, I never thought what the ramifications could be of giving Neteller my checking account number and routing number, I have done this and I use my main checking account.

I usually keep all my winnings in my Neteller account, if it gets to be over 4k I will take it out using my Neteller ATM card so it never runs through my bank.

I'm not sure if the IRS can track this or not, but I do claim all poker winnings so it shouldn't matter.

[ColdCaller]

I keep a separate bank account (WaMu doesn't care much, in fact, they recommended it) for all my Internet purchases and online gambling purposes. This way no excess information is leaked to my primary checking account. I transfer the money online as needed, and do not have a debit card for my secondary checking account.

I think this adds another layer of safety and security in the Internet age.

[shag]

What if i just have a bunch of cash and chips in a casino safety deposit box... Do they ever know about this?? (The IRS)