Do You Have To Pay Taxes When You Win At Poker?

King of card games, Poker reached unprecedented popularity in the 2000s thanks to communication techniques. Now there is online poker, and big tournament TV broadcasts.

The world of poker quickly became very attractive with an online market representing nearly three billion dollars in 2010, according to some estimates. Faced with this popularity, the question of the payment of tax by the players arose.

Will you have to pay taxes if you win at poker? This article explains all about the taxation of poker players.

Paying taxes: who is taxable and who is not?

It is especially professional players who are targeted by the state. Indeed, you are considered taxable when you usually play poker with the aim of making a profit. So the almost majority of casual gamers are not in the crosshairs of the tax authorities.

However, legalization remains rather vague. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to determine the status of the game and to know when you are considered a professional player. Since 2016, the State has required casinos and other gaming venues to register your data (name, address, amounts won, etc.). Legally, the state considers those who habitually play and win big at poker to be professionals . So, when you only play occasionally and you have an activity that justifies your lifestyle, you are not normally affected by tax.

How is the tax levied?

The news is not very good for all professionals because you are becoming a real business. You must have bookkeeping and report all of your earnings. Certain expenses can be included in the costs.

However, it is possible to take advantage of the “white year”, an advantage which depends on the income for the year in which the withholding tax came into effect. If the income is lower than that received during the best of the previous three years, tax will not apply. Otherwise, the income will be partially taxed.

You need to think about the best ways to invest and lower your taxes .

What solutions to the relentlessness of the tax authorities?

Do the accounts :

To avoid any complications, remember to record all your profits and expenses for the year with their supporting documents. This will allow you to avoid irregularities and sometimes having to pay twice as much.

The temptation of tax exile:

This extreme and sometimes dangerous solution is surely not to be recommended, especially when the income is not extraordinary. If you decide to leave France, you have the option of being a tax resident of another country, but don’t lie to the tax authorities because you are risking a lot.

There you have it, you now know if you are taxable or not.…

How To Effectively Shuffle And Deal Cards In Poker?

Are you a poker enthusiast, are you tired of seeing the same straight sets of cards flop ten times when playing poker with friends? This is classic though if you don’t know how to effectively shuffle a pack of cards.

In France we love to split the deck in two and put a few cards in front, a few cards behind… And frankly, it’s a really bad idea. Dealers shuffle the cards differently.

Knowing how to shuffle cards for efficient distribution during your games is not hard. It is an undertaking which is not impossible, although training in skillful handling of the cards of this game of chance is necessary.

In this article, we show you some easy-to-use methods for effectively shuffling and dealing cards in a game of poker.

The salad method

The salad method , like the shuffle method, is one of the most used techniques when you need to shuffle and deal poker cards as efficiently as possible.

To do this, they must be displayed on the table, taking care to keep their face down. Then you need to shuffle all the cards by shuffling them on the table. Consider doing it as if you are mixing salad. As you can see, this technique is easily performed. Just follow this process to the letter and your card distribution will be fair.

We tend not to want to shuffle the cards like this because it takes up a lot of space and looks like a child having fun… However, all professional croupiers start their shuffling with a salad, because it has nothing more effective!

The shuffle method

The shuffle method is the second most popular method of shuffling and dealing cards in the game of poker. To use this technique, you must first collect the cards before dividing them into two equal piles .

As soon as you make your two piles, you have to insert them one by one, then think about bringing them together again in a single block. You must repeat this gesture several times before starting the intermediate cut which will distribute your cards.

This method is easier with a good plastic deck of cards, rather than cardboard cards. With the latter, it tends to damage them quickly.

The intermediate cut and the final cut to distribute your cards

The intermediate cut that can occur after a shuffle is the fourth phase of the poker shuffling and dealing process. This step consists of dividing the cards into three piles before putting them together again.

After making yur mid cut, you still need to do a shuffle. Finish this operation with the final cut . To achieve this, you must necessarily use your cutting card . To do this, you need to split your cards into two blocks.

Then lay half on the cut card (a plastic card in a solid color) before putting them back together again. Once you have shuffled the cards, start dealing. It is advisable to bet on the use of a cut card made of a material such as plastic, because favoring plastic cards reduces the risk of cheating. In addition, the interest of this choice lies in its ability to prevent the card from being seen by the opposing player.

As you can see, mastering these different techniques will allow you to shuffle and deal your poker cards easily. In this regard, it should be noted that for your game of poker becomes more attractive if you have to perform a very good shuffle of the cards at your disposal.

A pro dealer makes these 3 shuffles in a row and it takes little time for an effective shuffle.

Note on cheating:  Defining a mixing method for your games and requiring each participant to respect them drastically reduces cheating. It is recommended that the final cut be made for a player other than the shuffler and that you have a cut card. Thus, no one masters from A to Z and can put an interesting card underneath the deck that he will give himself during the distribution.

Another tip, to go faster during the game, play with two decks of cards. While the dealer deals the cards and takes care of displaying the flop, turn and river, another player can shuffle another pack. So, as soon as the move is over, a new deal can begin!…

The Origins Of Poker

The principle of poker goes back hundreds of years. Indeed, we find traces of old games called Primero in Spain or La Prime in France in many works dating from the 16th century. But, if nowadays, poker is so popular, it is because it knew how to impose itself in the whole world.

And if many games have inspired its creation, it is above all the players who, through their games all over the world, have exported poker over the years. So let’s explore the history of this game that has become legendary.

Various origins

In the 16th century, we find the first principles of poker in the game  La Prime  : it was played with four-card hands and there were betting rounds. When the player had four cards of a different suit, then he had a bounty. The Prime therefore consisted in forming the best possible combination of cards , but it was during the time of Louis XIV that a variant was created, called the “ambiguous game”, which introduced a hierarchy of these cards. different combinations. The Prime quickly gained popularity throughout Europe, reaching the Mediterranean regions (Spain, Italy) as far as England or Germany.

But it was at the beginning of the 18th century that we witnessed the development of betting,  particularly in Germany with the game “Pochen” which means “to bluff” and from which modern poker is particularly inspired. At the same time, the Poque, a French adaptation of the German game, appeared in Louisiana at the beginning of the 19th century. The game then spread over the years thanks to merchants who used the Mississippi River to deliver to the rest of the country. Many will say that it is the English speakers of New Orleans who would thus have Anglicized the word “poque” in “poker”, because the two games have great similarities, but the origin of the word is sometimes disputed. Historical sources are scarce and some believe that the word comes from the English “to poke” which means “to tap”.

The first written records

It was in 1829 that we find the first mention of poker in the  Memoirs of Joe Cowell , a British actor on a trip to the United States. According to its description, it was an American game in which each player had five cards. Bets were rife as to which of them had the best combination . Often, poker has been linked to the Persian game “As Nas” which had the same principle, but  this origin has since been refuted, as the first descriptions of the Iranian game are later and date from 1890.

After a few mentions of the game in the 1830s, it was in 1858 that the first rules were put on paper. But most of them are just additions, like  new combinations (more) or the introduction of the draw so that players with bad cards can continue the game.  It was during the Civil War in 1861 that poker took off, thanks to the American soldiers, very fond of this card game. And as we can see in many Hollywood films, the  saloons  of the American West were privileged places to play there and remained in the imagination of the world of poker.

Poker today

Some casinos organize poker tournaments

Over the years, poker has seen many variations. Texas Hold’em has become the most popular of them thanks to television broadcasts of the tournaments . But there is also the Stud, the Omaha or the Draw, which represent its most common and appreciated forms.

Poker is now present everywhere: it is played at home, with friends, in clubs, casinos or on the internet. Considered the national card game in the United States , this game has a particularly interesting psychological dimension. Guessing your opponent’s cards, observing him or even bluffing adds a stimulating aspect that appeals to many players around the world.