i finally had my breakthrough this past week... i played in some multi-table tourneys and finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd... each tourney had between 800-1300 players for buy-ins of 20, 30, and 50 bucks... i was paid $5,025, $3,040, and $1,989... does anyone know if i have to pay taxes on this shit?... im guessing the IRS is not notified about these things considering they are run by companies overseas... anyone taken home some loot that can help me out here? i really dont want the IRS up my ass... clubber? anyone?

anyone else play at partypoker? screennames?... mine is "edved" in case you see me around

Holy shit! You are the fucking man! I've never won that much in one lump sum so i'm not sure about the IRS. I haven't had a problem yet with the government but you might want to talk to an accountant. That's awesome anyway.

I agree. Ask an accountant.

there may be some sort of law stating that winnings over a certain amount can be taxed - like w/ horse racing.

hell, i amazed myself at one point... i was actually sitting at 2 final tables at the same time (about 430am saturday morning)... i think it's best to play those late night games where you get all the drunks and college kids playing too

thanks for the input (you too Tubbs)

DUDE!

What kind of money did you have to get in with? $100? $1000?

I downloaded party poker but I can't figure out some of it. Like hooking up my bank account, I kept getting errors. So I played some stupid fake money game. I'd like to do the multi-table tournaments. That's what I do well.

i put in 200$ about 2 weeks ago (the actual tourney costs were 20, 30, and 50 bucks)... i have been playing partypoker off-and-on for about a year though (and poker for a lifetime)... i was up about 1,000 over the last year before this past week where everything just kind of came together...

i know a good accountant, send me your name, social security number and current address, and i promise you, since youre a carolina fan and my general nemesis on this board, that i wont contact the IRS in regards to your question....



...no honestly, i wont

you can hook up your checking account straight through them (which im not in favor of)... i just wire transfer money whenever i'm in the mood to play... it costs about 10% of the deposit for the transfer, but if it's your initial deposit i think you get 10-20% bonus for your deposit, so at least it will take care of the charge your first time round

im sure there's someone around here i can talk to... but thanks for the assistance

generally speaking, any income you receive, including income that is not legal in the united states, is taxable. this includes gambling winnings.

Yeah I was kind of wondering...isn't this illegal in the first place? I don't know what would be a bigger problem, letting the government know that you illegally won this money or not paying taxes on your winnings.

Yeah, you might want to talk to an accountant AND a lawyer.

Great job man!

What has been your strategy? I have gotten as high as 6th place in a 2000 person tourney and usually get knocked out anywhere from 60-200 if I play well. Do you lay back for the first few blinds and wait for opportunities or do you play aggressive from the start?

1. Do I have to pay taxes?
Yes. According to the IRS, “gambling winnings are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return.” (see IRS Topic 419) Although poker players consider poker as a game of skill, for tax purposes it is categorized as a form of gambling.

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2. How do I file?
You must report the full amount of your gambling winnings for the year as “other income” on line 21 of Form 1040.

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3. How would the IRS find out about my casino winnings?

For Winnings of More Than $600 - If you win more than $600, the casino is required to issue you a Form W-2G and report the winning to the IRS.

For Winnings of Less Than $600 – In these cases the reporting is based on the honor system. Casinos are not required to report winnings under $600. In theory, tax payers are still responsible for reporting their own winnings.

For Winnings of More Than $5,000 – If a winner receive more than $5,000, the casino is required to withhold 25% of the proceeds.

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4. How would the IRS find out about my online winnings?

The reporting of online gambling income currently operates on the honor system. Most of the online poker rooms are licensed in foreign jurisdictions such as Costa Rica, Great Britain and Australia. These poker rooms fall outside of IRS jurisdiction and do not report your winnings to the IRS. Therefore, the only way the IRS can find out about your winnings is if you declare it on your tax return.

Many poker players get away with never declaring their online winnings. Without cooperation from the online poker rooms, the IRS has little recourse. The U.S. government looses millions of dollars each year due to this loophole. In order to recoup this lost revenue, several legislators and industry leaders have vocally called for the licensing of online gambling in the U.S.

"We believe that gaming on the Internet should be regulated and taxed," said Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM Mirage. "We cannot afford to put our heads in the sand."

http://www.onlinepokercenter.com/articl ... es_faq.php

i think im going to go with #4

haha! yeah, i've been going with #4 for a couple of years now

teach me that cock-sucking trick and i'll let you in on my poker secrets... jk, i have a fiancee for that, though as the days go by she seems to go down less and less... typical i suppose

i rarely play anything before the first break... i might get in on some cheap flops early if i have a hand that can make a bundle... suited Ace and such... and i always play aa, kk, or qq for the most part... i have laid down qq before though... after the first break the blinds jump to 50-100 (as im sure you know) and this is when it's time to play some cards... from there i always play solid hands strong (rarely do i slowplay)... i also think it's crucial to buy some blinds when you get to the final 10% of players or so... most everyone tightens up about then (cause it's close to payout time)... and once i hit the final table i tend to play only the best hands, unless im trying to get a blind or two that i see as a possibility... other than that i let people knock each other off... also, if i get a lot of chips early in the game, i tend to tighten up even more... a lot of people tend to do just the opposite as to add on chips to their stack... but at what cost?... im not going in against a guy that has 25,000 chips when i have 4,000 unless im almost positive i have a better starting hand than him/her... so what sense does it make to try and take 4,000 off a guy if im only sitting on A9 or something at 25,000 chips, cause chances are he's not putting his tourney life on the line on A8...

im sure there's some better advice out there, but this is the way i play it, and it works, sometimes

with online poker though you need to stay away from bad luck (which is luck in itself i suppose)... too many dumbasses out there chasing flushes and open-ended straights... but if youre a tight player you can take advantage of their weaknesses

I guess before you start building multimillion dollar palacial estates the IRS probably won't suspect a thing anyway.

that's why i hate the online game.

fuck that's a lot of money to win in one week.

I find thats the key to winning in tournament style no limit games. If you're willing to fold a quality hand you're likely to stick around. I've won about 500 in the last 3 weeks and I've learned to just let the dummies knock each other out.

I have had times where there are 3 people all in and I have KK and fold pre-flop. Is it worth getting knocked out early by some douchebag catching an Ace with A-6? I try and sit back and catch a monster and let people bet themselves out of the game. Last night I flopped a full house K's over Q's and kept checking and calling while people chased their straights and fell in love with their high pairs. It was great when 2 of them went all in after the river and I just type "Bad move" and call.