Can we get some more clarification on this? Here is what I’m thinking and doing regarding tournament wins and losses, is it wrong? Live play is easy – take the session win or loss and add that to either the “Other Income” (Gambling Winnings) or Gambling losses (to the extent of winnings) sections on the 1040 and the schedule A. For a tournament, if my buy-in is $220, with $200 to the prize pool and $20 to the house, and I cash out $1000, my net win would be $780.
I “Lost” $220 by entering but “won” $1000 in the single session. Even if in the above example an additional $10 was taken out for the dealers, my “loss” was still $220. Assuming all tips are declared as income by all dealers (don’t know here, but for pooled tips it’s probably the case), and all tournament tips are reported, what is the additional tax implication on the dealers by taking it out up front? I don’t see any, assuming the up frot amount is the same as the winners tip amounts. Please explain.
Answer 1:
I agree. Unless there’s some complicated procedure to get around the simple and obvious (nah, the IRS wouldn’t do that, would they?) Mark: here’s a tip … get a receipt for tips for backend (normal) tipping arrangement like the Sam Boyd Poker Classic.
Answer 2:
You don’t have a “net win”, the IRS doesn’t recognize that. You have two entries in your tax records, a $1000 win, and a $220 loss. But you payout would then be something less than $1000. Unfortunately the TOC is not a casino entity. The simpler and more appropriate way to do this is for the entry to be $230. The took pool should come from the entry fee and not the prize pool. If done that way the tax implications are even easier to deal with. The tip money never goes into the prize pool. I don’t know how it could be clearer, but here goes again. Assume the total amount tipped is $5000. You can either give that $5000 to the winning players, have them sign W2G’s for the amount, have them tip, then have them have to pay some percentage of that $5000 in taxes at the end of the year……. or, you don’t make the players sign for the $5000, you give the money directly to the dealers. If you enter a $1500 tournament, win $100,000 and tip $5000, you have to pay taxes on $98,500 (the 100,000 with a 1500 “loss” deduction). When you walk out of the casino, you will have $95,000 in your pocket, but a tax liability for $98,500. If the $5000 tip money is part of the entry fee or a percentage of the prize pool, if you win, you will win $95,000 and you will pay taxes on $93,500 (95,000 with still a 1500 loss deduction). You walk out of the casino with $95,000 in your pocket, but a tax liability of $93,5000 — $5000 less than the above. Again, this is a pure no brainer for players. The same amount of money goes from the players to the dealers. Less money goes from the winners to the IRS. More money is kept in the poker community.
Answer 3:
There is a little more to this as well. The area where you declare other income, is fully taxable as part of your adjusted gross. Your schedule a deduction while not subjected to the 2% adjusted gross income limitation can be limited by the total amount of your overall deductions. In other words it is not always a dollar for dollar trade off. Please consult your own tax adviser for details.

I use Word and have the suit symbols available as “one-stroke” macros. I used that in a word document and then pasted the symbols in above. I’m posting this to see if they show up properly on rgp.
Answer 1:
None of these (this and next two posts) will work if the characters are first changed to straight ASCII text, either deliberately or peripherally by the software. On my newsreader, the symbols appear as question marks — and this might be the same for everyone, depending on whether the translation failure is done at your end or when downloaded. I think it’s possible to use the symbols, but only some readers having the right software and fonts will be able to see them correctly.
Answer 2:
Usenet is a lowest-common-denominator medium, and that denominator is the 7-bit ASCII character set. Other things *might* work in *some* circumstances, but not all, and many people will see them as some form of garbage.
Answer 3:
Weird uses 16-bit “Unicode” characters. Your newsreader (and most everybody else’s) uses 8-bit ASCII characters. So your idea am not going to work. But you get points for trying.

I have a copy of Brunson’s book, with Mike Caro’s odds table in the back. I’m trying to work these problems myself so I can do more complicated ones in the future. There is a chart that says if your first three cards are the T, J, Q of clubs, your odds of getting a straight if you stay to the river are 14.91 (expressed in percent). I have tried to figure this out, but I’m not getting what I believe to be the right answer. Please explain how this is determined.
Answer 1:
I figure four ways to get an 8, 3 ways to get a 9 without a flush times 703 2 card combinations without getting a flush, all divided by 211876 (the number of 4 card combinations possible drawing from 49 cards.
Answer 2:
To get a QUEEN-high straight, you need an 8 and a 9, but no flush, and no KING, and not ‘double-counting’ combinations like 9-9-8-x and 9-9-8-8 and 9-9-9-8…and then also king-high and ace-high straights…
Answer 3:
For QUEEN-high straights ranks combinations from 10c-Jc-Qc, you could get: 9-8, and (any two Q’s,J’s,10′s)
9-8, and (any Q,J,10, and any A,2,3,4,5,6,7)
9-8, and (any two different ranks, A,2,3,4,5,6,7)
9-8, and (pair of any rank, A,2,3,4,5,6,7)
9-9-8 or 9-8-8, and (any Q,J,10)
9-9-8 or 9-8-8, and (any A,2,3,4,5,6,7)
9-9-8-8
9-9-9-8 or 9-8-8-8
Then just add up the combinations for these cases, excluding those with five or more clubs, and you should get 9,854 queen-high straights, and then add king-high straights (which should be the same number as queen-high), and ace-high straights…

I have a question. I live near a casino where there are always games of $1-$5 7-card stud but rarely any higher limit games (a couple of times a week there may be a $5 & $10 game). There is generally Texas hold ‘em games of various limits but I prefer stud. I feel like I have a fairly strong grasp of the basics of 7-card stud but I find myself consistently losing money at these tables when I know I know the game better than most of the players. Would anybody care to share some insights on playing this low-limit stud game and how to make money consistently with it?
Answer 1:
You can’t make money at 1-5 studs unless the opponents are really, really bad (and sometimes they are). The typically high rake and lack of antes makes this game inherently unbeatable.
If it’s the only stud game in town, and unfortunately this is often the case, then look for a table where everybody always calls the bring-in. This at least gets some money in the pot on 3rd street, making up for the lack of antes.
Answer 2:
In the games I’m talking about nearly everyone (except for me) calls the $1 forced bet on 3rd street. Figure out of a table of 8, an average of 6 people will call the bring-in. The way I’ve been deciding whether or not to call the bring-in would be with hands such as 3 to a live flush (2 or fewer of my suit out), 3 to a live straight 8-9-10 or higher (using Roy West’s 2-point rule), premium pairs, 3 live premium cards (10 or higher) and, of course, trips. The problem I’ve been running into is the number of people who are willing to call $5 bet after $5 bet to chase my premium pair. Most of the literature suggests that a premium pair vs. a single drawing hand is the odds-on favorite to win the hand but becomes the underdog against multiple drawing hands. Well if four know-nothing players are all willing to call a string of $5 bets to chase my pocket aces or kings then what do I do? I lose. A single player playing poorly at a table is a dream come true. But a pack of idiots all whipping their $5 chips around like tomorrow will never come becomes a nightmare.
Answer 3:
I just made $600 playing 1-5 stud at turning stone casino over a 24hr period-by reading your post im guessing you play way too many hands-it’s not the quantity of wins that is imp bit the size of the pots in the hands you win ( i won$150 in one pot with a king on board and the other 3 in the hole-had a guy keep re-raising me till he finally called) -a little advice is that if you have a playable first 3 cards and low card bets a dollar-raise it to $3 or more-this will drive most of the players looking to fish cheaply for a dollar out and will start a nice pot with less players- lastly dump the gerbage cards and never hunt for inside straight for you seldom hit and it can be
expensive.

I am new to poker and I am considering whether I should try playing for real money in one of the Internet sites, as I don’t think legal card rooms exist where I live (Orlando, FL). Could someone recommend a reputable site if that’s a good idea? Also, I’ve heard about the problem of collusion in online games. How prevalent a problem is that, really? And as I’m not yet an expert on the game, I can’t really see why two people playing in tandem would gain a particular advantage over other players. In my view that would be the same as one player getting two different hands in every round while having to pay for both of them. If he were a good player he would win
about twice as much money in a given period time, but he were a bad player he would probably lose twice as much. It seems to me that his only “advantage” would be in allowing his right hand to win money from his left hand or vice-versa. Again, as I’m a novice player, I just be missing something in my analysis, so please explain to me how such dishonest players might gain
an edge over others.

Answer 1:

Collusion online probably has the greatest effect in hi-lo split games.   Two players sharing info on their cards could also make a difference in high only games, of course, but less of a difference. I’m having a lot of fun playing hold ‘em at Planet Poker.  I had a lot of fun and lost a lot of money playing Omaha at Paradise.  My experience as a new player was that I thought my holdings were better than they were often enough to get royally screwed.  Pay close attention, study up, and be on your best game at all times- there are some very good players at both sites.

Answer 2:

I don’t think you have anything to worry about in the low-limit games (5-10 and lower). I wouldn’t necessarily refuse to play the higher limits just because of the potential for collusion, but I would be on the watch for it.

Answer 3:

I agree that the possibilities for collusion are greatest in hi lo. But I have played more Omaha 8 than Holdem and have not detected anything untoward in these games. The most suspicious behavior that I have seen in the hi lo games is someone with nut low timing out because the others are jamming the pot and they figure to get quartered. This is significant, but even this I have only seen a couple of times and only at the 10/20 tables.

I live in Orlando, FL and I’m new to poker. I’ve been wondering if there’s a legal card room or some other reputable venue in this area or elsewhere in the state. If you know of one, I’d greatly appreciate it if you let me know.
Answer 1:
none only the boats that go out of the cape I have tried to get a game going in Palm Bay for 3 years and can’t.
Answer 2:
The sun cruz casino out of port Canaveral (35 miles east on highway 528) has poker (holdem, Omaha 8, seven card hi lo, seven card hi) seven days a week with tournaments Sunday and Monday night). You can call to make a reservation at 321 783-2770 ext 2055. The cruises leave at 2 and 7 through the week, 2 and 7:30 pm on fri and sat, 1 and 7:30 on Sunday. The stakes vary depending on the day and the number of players. The best days to play are Thursday, fri, sat and Sunday. The games are mostly soft.
Answer 3:
And such is the life of a Florida poker player. Drive nearly an hour to get to the boat. Wait for half an hour, sail to international waters for nearly an hour (now 2.5 hours invested), play for 3.5 hours (at a rake cost of 10% up to $5 per pot + jackpot drop + dealer toke), and then spend 2.5 hours on the ride home. BTW, and that’s if the game can get off the ground. Play online with Planet or Paradise Poker.

Okay, I know there are 270,725 different 4 card combos.  Also, I’m pretty sure that the odds of 2 players playing heads-up both getting aces are 1/270,725.  (Even though they could each get their aces in six different ways, it doesn’t seem to change the odds to me.) But what about two pairs of aces dealt to any two players in a ten-handed
game?  What about the number of different ways 10 people can get two cards? Is it 52 taken 20 at a time? = 125,994,627,894,135 or is it 52 taken 2 at a time * 50 taken two at a time *  etc…down to 34 taken two at a time?  (I would use the proper combination notation if I could just figure out how to type it in.) Anyway, there’s the question, odds masters.  What’s the easy way (or the hard way) to determine the odds of two people getting aces in a ten-handed game, or two-handed game or with x number of players?

Say 10 players…start with 20/52 that the ace of spades is in some player’s hand, and if so, then either 1/51 that the ace of hearts is in the same player’s hand, or 18/51 that it’s in a different player’s hand…and so on.

Answer 2:

Here is an alternate method to the one indicated by Barbara. Suppose
you have ten players.  20 cards are dealt (two to each player).  In order for two of the players to each have a pair of aces, all four aces must be included in the 20 dealt cards.  The probability of this occurring is C(48,16)/C(52,20) = .017896  (1), where C(48,16) is the number of ways to choose 16 objects out of 48, etc. Now, assuming that all 4 aces are included in the 20 cards dealt, the probability that player 1 and player 2 each get a pair of aces is C(4,2)/[C(20,2)*C(18,2)] = .000206398 There are C(10,2) = 45 choices of two players out of the 10 (and each selection of two players is “independent” to any other different selection of two players), so the probability of any two players getting dealt the pair of aces GIVEN that the 4 aces were in the 20 cards is .000206398*45 = .00928791  (2) The probability you desired is the product of (1) and (2); i.e., given 10 handed hold’em, the probability that two people are each dealt a pair of aces = .017896)*(.00928791) = .0001662 So, in a 10 handed game one would expect to see (on average) such an event about once every 6016 hands.

Answer 3:

Another straightforward way ‘to skin this cat’… 20/52 that the ace of spades is in SOME player’s hand, and then 3/51 that that same player’s ‘other’ card is one of the other three aces, and then 18/50 that the ‘next’ ace is in some other player’s hand, and then 1/49 that the last ace is in the same other hand.

Playing in games (both home and casino) here in Southern California, I have always heard the word “over” describing a full house.  For example, AAAQQ is “aces over queens.”  However, at a home game in Seatlle, the hand AAQQ (two pair) is called “aces over queens.”  They said that the only correct terminology for a full house is “full of.”  I always use “up” for two pair.  I know I’ve heard “over” more often, and seen it in dictionaries and poker movies alike.  Which is actually correct?

Answer 1:

AAAQQ can be described, in my experience, as “aces full of
queens”, “aces full” or “aces over queens”.  AAQQx is either “two pair, aces up” or “aces and queens”.

Answer 2:

I have never heard “Aces over Queens” as correct terminology for a full house. Aces full of Queens is the correct term. Generally someone saying ”Aces over Queens” when they have a full house is what we would call a real “jerk-off”.

Answer 3:

I have never seen a full house described as ‘Aces over Queens” in fact the person describing a full house in this manner we would call a real jerk-off!

I was playing in a stud8 tourney at the Clearwawter Casino in Suquamish, WA when the following thing happened: The limits are 50-100, and on fifth street, Player A goes all in with 50. Player B acts next and says “raise” and puts in 100 (I believe she thought the full bet limit was 50 at this point). I point out that she did not in
fact raise it, only completed it.

After a bit of confusion, the dealer realizes the full bet is 100 and Player A went all in. Player B then realizes what is going on, and puts 200 in. I speak up again and say she can’t put in 200, she can only put in 150 (50 + 100 raise). The floor gets called over, and says player B is allowed to make it 200. I say “she can’t complete the bet AND raise it”, and the floor responded “She just did”. At this point, the floor, the card room manager, two player/dealers and the dealer are all looking at me like I am from Mars. Player B, who happens to be a dealer, says “that’s how they play here”. I am not the most experienced poker player in the world, but this seems really weird. The way I have seen it, Player B can call or raise the bet to 150. If it is less than half of a full bet, you can call or complete it to a full bet amount. Does this vary from room to room, or is this the first time you have heard of this? IMHO, this is a bad rule. Allowing a player to raise more than the limit is wrong.

Answer 1:

“Player B can call or raise the bet to 150. If it is less than half of a full bet, you can call or complete it to a full bet amount.” That is the standard/widely used rule. However, some card rooms do have different rules. I would have asked to see their rulebook, or the posted rules, which should be somewhere on the wall.

Answer 2:

Different places have different rules.  It is the case in some rooms that a bet of at least half of the full bet can be completed and raised.

Answer 3:

In most card rooms, an all-in bet of half-a-bet or more can be called,
completed, or raised.  i am unaware of any card room [1] where a bet can be completed *and* raised. In this situation, (note:  local rules will prevail. assuming nothing unusual,) B could have called the 50, completed to 100, or raised to 150.

however, having said “raise,” I would have held B to a bet of 150.