Poker Blogging

Right now, 100% of my income is from online poker. I cash out $2,000 ever 2 weeks or so and have a check mailed to me. I play Sit-n-go tournaments almost exclusively. If you don’t know what this is, you basically sign up for a small tournament (between 9 and 45 players), and once enough people have signed up to play, it starts.

My question is, what is the best way to track this for my 2008 tax return? I’m sure ideally I would record every single tournament, but by the end of the year I will have thousands of tournament results, but it seems this is rather tedious for both me and the IRS.

Would it be more effective, or legal for me to simply track the cashout checks? Since I’m working with an out of country company, and the money’s not really mine until I have a check in hand I thought this might be ok.

Also, I never make deposits (and actually never have, but that’s another story) if that makes any difference.

So if i want to be smart about my first deposit to an online poker room, couldn’t I just pick a room with a 100% 1st deposit match bonus. Then deposit $500 and get $500 for a total of $1000 in my account. Then go and enter a $500, 6 person Sit N Go tournament. And then if I loose just withdraw my initial $500 and go to a different room with a 100% first deposit bonus and keep doing this until I win the Sit N Go????

if it is now illegal to gamble online within the US why do these gambeling sites still take your money. My little brother stole 1000 dollars from me and lost it all on a poker site. Is there anyway to get my money back should I contact the fed government about this site? how would you handle this?
one yes online poker for money is illegal in the united states. I can get the statuit number if you would like.
2 I tried signing up for the same site aqbout a month ago and they would not take my debit card due to the fact I was a resident of the United States.
3 I had given him a check for his birthday that he photo copied and was using the reference and accounting number to gain acces to the funds in my account.
4 Although he is a pain in the ass I would rather not see him go to jail.
3 I know pot is illegal and I smoke it everyday so your point is lost on me there. And he is already in the whole for 18 bathroom cleaings so he kind of is my slave already.
richard it is not illegal to buy food but it is illegal to gamblle with money online no matter what country the compnay is based out of. The user of the computer and the financial institution are based in America. If a muslim cAME OVER HERE AND KILLED HIS DAUGHTER AS AN HONER KILLING WHICH IS NOT ILLEGAL IN THERE COUNTRY HE WOULD STILL BE PROSECUTED HERE. SAME AS WITH THE CEOS OF THESE ONLINE GAMBLING SITES ONE FOOT IN aMERICAN TERITORY AND THEY ARE IN JAIL.
But guys it is not like he had a check from another country it is an american based bank. So if there are laws passed not allowing the transfer of funds from an american bank to a gambeling site how do they get around that. I am still miffed I went on last night and tried again still no go says financial inst based in the US. So if it is illegal for these sites to withdrawl the money how do they get around it.