Wager Mage
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Do I report the money I wagered or just my winnings?

You must report your winnings For example, if you win $620 from a horse race but it cost you $20 to bet, your taxable winnings are $620, not $600 after subtracting your $20 wager. Cash is not the only kind of winnings you need to report.

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OVERVIEW

For many of us, gambling means buying the occasional lottery ticket on the way home from work, but the Internal Revenue Service says that casual gambling also includes raffles, casino games, poker, sports betting—and, yes, even fantasy football. When you win, your winnings are taxable income, subject to its own tax rules.

You must report your winnings

The first rule is that you must report all winnings, whether the place that you gambled reports them to the government or not. For example, if you hit the trifecta on Derby Day, you must report the winnings as income. The second rule is that you can’t subtract the cost of gambling from your winnings. For example, if you win $620 from a horse race but it cost you $20 to bet, your taxable winnings are $620, not $600 after subtracting your $20 wager. Cash is not the only kind of winnings you need to report. If you win a brand new laptop in a raffle, this counts as income, too. You must claim the item’s fair market value at the time you won it, which would generally be the amount you would have to pay for the item if you bought it. Form W-2G Both cash and the value of prizes are considered “other income” on your Form 1040. If you score big, you might even receive a Form W-2G reporting your winnings. The tax code requires institutions that offer gambling to issue Forms W-2G if you win: $600 or more on a horse race (if the win pays at least 300 times the wager amount);

$1,200 or more at bingo or on a slot machine;

$1,500 or more at keno;

$5,000 or more in a poker tournament. Table games in a casino, such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat, or craps are exempt from the W-2G rule. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to claim the income and pay taxes on it if your winnings aren’t enough to warrant the tax form. It just means that the institution won’t send a Form W-2G. You can deduct your losses…to an extent You can’t deduct the cost of your wager from your winnings when determining how much you won, but you can deduct your gambling losses subject to certain rules. You must itemize your deductions to claim your gambling losses as a tax deduction. This means you can’t take the standard deduction for your filing status, which often amounts to more than a taxpayer’s itemized deductions. You’re allowed to deduct losses only up to the amount of the gambling income you claimed. So if you won $2000 but lost $5,000, your itemized deduction is limited to $2,000. You can’t use the remaining $3,000 to reduce your other taxable income. You have to claim $2,000 in income on your Form 1040 and then separately claim $2,000 as an itemized deduction.

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What wins flush or 3 of a kind?

While both are very good hands, a flush beats three of a kind in poker. A flush is mathematically harder to get in a poker game, making it a stronger and more rare hand than three of a kind. A flush is made when you hold five cards of all the same suit.

Knowing how the standard poker hand rankings work is one of the most important fundamentals in poker. Nobody learns the hand rankings in just one session, however.

New players and experienced grinders alike get excited when they pick up a hand like three of a kind or a flush. Which one of these strong hands wins when they go head-to-head in a game of poker?

Does Three of a Kind Beat a Flush in Poker?

While both are very good hands, a flush beats three of a kind in poker.A flush is mathematically harder to get in a poker game, making it a stronger and more rare hand than three of a kind. A flush is made when you hold five cards of all the same suit. If you randomly draw five cards out of a standard 52-card deck, you have an 0.1965% chance of making a flush. That percentage equates to about 509-to-1 odds against making a flush. In a random draw of five cards, you have a 2.1128% chance of making three of a kind. Three of a kind is made when you draw three of the same ranking card, along with two other unpaired cards. Your odds against drawing three of a kind are about 46-to-1. In Texas Hold’em, you’re tasked with making the strongest possible five-card hand out of seven total cards. The odds of making a flush in Texas Hold’em are around 32-to-1, while the odds of making three of a kind are about 20-to-1.

What Beats a Flush in Poker?

Full houses, four of a kind, straight flushes, and royal flushes are the only poker hands that beat a flush. When two or more players make a flush, the hand with the strongest high card wins.

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