I always start at the poker room, but if I can't put anything together in the first hour or so, I leave the table and go play one of the player vs. house table games like Blackjack or one of the poker variants. Even the best players have nights they just can't get anything but seven deuce off and flopping A-K-10 rainbow. The key is to *know* it isn't meant to go your way and walk away before you lose your stack in frustration. And yes, I'm strictly a ring/cash game player. I like to get up and go home when I notice I'm starting to bleed off some of my winnings. I try to play 2 or 3 times a month, more if I seem on a roll, which I have been of late. It's a nice supplemental income of usual about 10-15K a year after taxes. and yes, I started filing them so the government can't come back should I win one of the jackpots and start looking over my bank account and purchases and decide to audit me. Better safe than sorry. Just keep detailed records of each night's buy-in and cash out. You can write off your losing nights up to the total of all your winnings so you only pay on what you actually made on the year.