This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
AC says:
The basic advice here is to keep records of your gambling results. This article is about video poker specifically, but the advice applies to all gambling activity. I’ve always advocated record-keeping for two reasons. The first is obvious — if you’re audited for taxes, you need to have a gambling log of some type or your claims can be rejected. The second is even more important. You need to have a true picture of results and this applies to both winning and losing players. If you’re playing for profit, tracking results can confirm that you’re playing with the expected edge or alert you that you’re not making enough to justify the time and effort spent. If you play for entertainment, record-keeping will tell you how much gambling is costing you. It’s not necessary to be anywhere near as detailed as the author suggests; keeping a daily log of wins and losses will usually be sufficient for both purposes I’ve mentioned. However, more information is better, especially when dealing with the IRS. The definitive source of information on tax matters is our book Tax Help for Gamblers, by Jean Scott, Marissa Chien, and Russell Fox. You can also get win/loss statements from the casino players clubs, which doesn’t require any record-keeping on your part and will provide reliable data.
This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.
Documenting Video Poker Play
Most video poker players simply sit down at a machine and play. They do not keep track of which machine is played, amount deposited, amount cashed out, nor anything else.
This may be okay for casual players – those who only play a few hundred to a few thousand hands per year – but are more serious players missing something by not keeping records of their video poker play?
This article offers suggestions on what details to keep and why it is a good idea for serious players to document them.