Health Upgraders

There are lot of questions surrounding online poker and it’s lucrative nature so today we’re going to address a few of those questions and hopefully give some closure to you budding stars.

First, do poker payers pay taxes? Well, yes, they do. Gambling winnings are considered income and are thus subject to the same kind of tax scale as income tax that you would pay if you worked a regular job. However, anything under 500 dollars in the US is considered too small to tax.

What about online poker online, is it safer than playing in the casinos? Well yes and no. In any arena where money is involved, there exist people out there to try to cheat or steal it away from you. As far as safe goes, concerning bodily harm, of course online casinos are safer. No one is going to stalk you as you walk out the door with some big winnings after you close your computer. Really it just depends on what kind of safety you’re concerned about. Because of course on the other side of the coin, there exist sites that are solely interested in taking your money online, but those don’t survive for long.

How do you get paid when playing online professionally? Well most of the time the casinos write paper checks that are traceable. This means that you have records for your purposes when filing tax returns. Many of us file as self-employed professionals.

Is there more cheating online? Again, I think this is one of those tough to answer questions. It’d be altruistic to think that all forms of cheating and collusion could be ousted in either venue, online or live. But I don’t think it’s safe to label either one more ridden with scoundrels and cheats. It’s probably about equal, and the cheats seem to be in the very fractionally small minority.

Finally, How do you keep track of whether or not you’re making money in the long run? While this seems like a simple question, it can actually get pretty complex. I like simplicity though, so I usually just use a spreadsheet detailing the amount I’ve spent, the time I played, and a rough estimate of weekly, monthly, and yearly profit and loss. That way, I can gauge a fair estimate of my “hourly-wage,” which is sometimes up there in the triple digits for the week, and others it’s down to less than 10 dollars an hour. I can also estimate my yearly earnings and monthly average among other things that you end up noticing if you’re playing on a regular basis.