Just checking in: I've surpassed the 30 buy-in mark @ $100NL and am seeking to make the rest of the 40 buy-ins via cash games and bonuses before I look to play $200NL. Full Tilt finally set-up the rest of my $500 first time deposit bonus and I've cleared $160 of it and am well on pace to clear it ahead of schedule. I already cleared the $150 Stars reload bonus and have $50 (5 x $10) from Stellar Rewards and I'm about 1/2 way to getting the first of the $50 increments. I'm also happy because I'll finally have a chance to cash in some of my FPP's in the form of the $650 and $50 reduced rate bonuses being offered this month on PokerStars. As you can see, there are a lot of new year bonus opportunities not to mention rakeback. Hopefully I can manage a profit @ the table before it's all said and done, too

Because of the recent deposits on FullTilt and Stars and because my bankroll is low on FullTilt relative to Stars, I will probably end up withdrawing $1300 from Stars - my original $100 deposit plus $600 FullTilt deposit plus $600 Stars reload deposit. This way I can get back my deposit money and continue playing @ both sites. What is the process to get a check withdrawal from Stars and Tilt? I've heard you have to send in a copy of your driver's liscense and a recent utility bill. Is that correct? Anything else?

So, if I am fortunate to keep things going in the right direction, I'm not exactly sure when I'll move up to $200NL on Stars - it all depends on how much and when I withdraw and obviously how long it takes the bankroll to move up. It will be a good while before I can move up to $200NL @ Tilt because I am basically starting from scratch outside of a $600 first time deposit, corresponding bonus, and rakeback. I'll basically need to take my bankroll from $1200 to $8000 or 68 buy-ins At any rate, I am always giddy with anticipation @ the prospect of the next level

I am setting a goal for the New Year that I believe will be a good supplement for "How High Can You Get?" and my general poker game. I'd like to make $25k in 2010 from poker including online and live. Last year I made $9k, so this year's goal would be more than double that, BUT I was playing $2NL this time last year, so there is a part of me that thinks there is room to do even better. Why $25k? Well, if I can succeed AND keep my day job, I'll make $100k for the first time and poker would contribute 25% of that or 3:1 - day job : poker. I may post monthly stats related to that goal.

I've done some preliminary tax research and I although the amounts are modest, I need to file taxes on poker winnings from 2009. This is the first time I've ever filed taxes on anything poker related and I'm wondering if I should do it myself, hire Russ Fox, or hire someone else. If anyone has any feedback related to this, feel free to reply here or send me a private message. Also, I anticipate this year I will have to fill out the form to declare that I over $10k in accounts outside the United States. In fact, I'm very close now to hitting that mark now. Do I have to fill it out the moment I hit $10k or include it in my 2010 tax files next year?

Hopefully 2010 will be a fun and productive year. I'm also planning to go for plain Jane Supernova on Stars.