Category: Strategies

Greek Gambling Taxes Vex Online Poker Players

120103_poker_gambling_2

The Rational Group, which operates popular online poker sites PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, announced in November that it will begin withholding taxes from Greek player winnings in order to comply with local tax codes. This change drew the ire of Greek players, many of whom expressed their feelings in a thread on popular poker forum Twoplustwo

Tax Withholding Details

Under the Greek gambling taxation scheme, all winnings of less than €100 are tax-free while a 15 percent tax is applied to all winnings between €100 and €500. Winnings over €500 are subject to a 20 percent tax rate. The appropriate amount of taxes is withheld on a daily basis by the poker room itself. What makes this arrangement especially odious to players is that losing days cannot be used to offset winning days thus making the effective tax rate on winnings much higher than it may seem at first glance.

A Cumbersome Workaround

Affected players quickly realized that tournament registrations are countedaces-cards-poker-gamblingagainst winnings for the purposes of tax collection even if the tournaments in question are scheduled to occur on a future date. Tournament unregistrations count as profits for the days during which the unregistrations take place.

A player who has won €120 on a given day could register for a future €22 tournament in order to bring his daily profits below the €100 threshold. On a future date, when the player has a daily profit below €78, that player could then unregister from the tournament effectively juggling his profits around to minimize tax liability. By this process, dubbed “Taxes hold’em” by online wits, players from Greece can make thousands of euros of taxes per year disappear completely.

An Uncertain Future

The future of Greek online poker looks grim especially for those poker professionals who rely upon the game for their income. Loopholes may be closed in future thus subjecting players to the full brunt of the tax code. Only by allowing players to subtract their losing days from their winning ones will Greece enable a flourishing and sustainable online poker ecology.

European Lotteries React to Philippines Typhoon Disaster

Organizations involved with European lottery funds have faced some pressure starburst wheelto donate funds to Philippine typhoon relief. In at least one case, the lottery fund has responded.

The Philippines were devastated by typhoon Haiyan in November, 2013. The storm left more than four million homeless, and destroyed large parts of the island nation’s infrastructure and industry. Total damage has been estimated at at least £500 million (€590 million).

The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) will make up to £5 million (€5.9 million) available to UK charities for typhoon relief. The fund disperses income gained from the UK’s National Lottery. Typhoon aid distributed from BLF through its International Community Programme will be targeted for rebuilding communities and infrastructure.

Peter Ainsworth, BLF Chair, explained that the fund’s mission supports people and communities most in need. The BLF is coordinating its efforts with a number of UK charities, and its donation will complement other UK relief and rebuilding efforts already underway in the Philippines.

In a related effort, more than 130,000 people signed an online petition asking that an unclaimed £12 million (€14.2 million) prize in the EuroMillions Lottery be donated to typhoon relief efforts. The organizers have been unable to agree to this, due to regulations on how unclaimed prize funds are to be used. The EuroMillions lottery is available in the UK, through the National Lottery, and eight other European nations.

Lottery organizers explained that the money cannot be donated, because it will rollover into the next Lottery prize drawing. While expressing sympathy with the petitioners, a EuroMillions spokesperson explained that the money must be considered the property of lottery players, and used for prizes. As a result, the money from the unclaimed prize will roll over into the next jackpot.

About 28 percent of National Lottery proceeds go to charitable causes and organizations. According to Lottery organizers, this has involved more than 400,000 individual grants total £35 million (€41.5 million).

Organizations involved with European lottery funds have faced some pressure to donate funds to Philippine typhoon relief. In at least one case, the lottery fund has responded.

The Philippines were devastated by typhoon Haiyan in November, 2013. The storm left more than four million homeless, and destroyed large parts of the island nation’s infrastructure and industry. Total damage has been estimated at at least £500 million (€590 million).

The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) will make up to £5 million (€5.9 million) available to UK charities for typhoon relief. The fund disperses income gained from the UK’s National Lottery. Typhoon aid distributed from BLF through its International Community Programme will be targeted for rebuilding communities and infrastructure.

Peter Ainsworth, BLF Chair, explained that the fund’s mission supports people and communities most in need. The BLF is coordinating its efforts with a number of UK charities, and its donation will complement other UK relief and rebuilding efforts already underway in the Philippines.

In a related effort, more than 130,000 people signed an online petition asking that an unclaimed £12 million (€14.2 million) prize in the EuroMillions Lottery be donated to typhoon relief efforts. The organizers have been unable to agree to this, due to regulations on how unclaimed prize funds are to be used. The EuroMillions lottery is available in the UK, through the National Lottery, and eight other European nations.

Lottery organizers explained that the money cannot be donated, because it will rollover into the next Lottery prize drawing. While expressing sympathy with the petitioners, a EuroMillions spokesperson explained that the money must be considered the property of lottery players, and used for prizes. As a result, the money from the unclaimed prize will roll over into the next jackpot.

About 28 percent of National Lottery proceeds go to charitable causes and organizations. According to Lottery organizers, this has involved more than 400,000 individual grants total £35 million (€41.5 million).

Sources:

BigLotteryFund

MetroCoUk

NationalLoterryUK

BigLotteryFund

MetroCoUk

NationalLoterryUK

The Best Bets: Learning What Casino Games Have The Best Odds

Some games at the casino have better odds than the others. You might think that it is all luck based, but there are some specific things that you can look at to help improve your odds at winning money.

Take a look at this infographic to learn about factors like house edge, odds, machine games versus table games, and what games have the best odds. By playing games that minimize the edge the casino has, you can increase your chances of winning.

INFOGRAPHIC - Which Casino Games Have The best Odds

Arm you and your friends with the infographic below and be better prepared the next time you’re at the casino. Thanks to the great folks at Casino UK for producing this insightful piece!

An easy strategy for jacks or better video poker

JacksorBetterWith every single casino game, there is an optimal way to play that will help maximize your ability to walk away a winner. This even applies to video poker games, and if you’re going to be a winning jacks or better player, you need to remember a few key strategies. The following strategy is one that’s both easy to remember and simple to apply. Whether you’re going to be playing video poker in a casino or online, these things can bring about the best results.

Hands to get rid of
You should recognize some critical hands that might be attractive when they’re dealt to you. Good strategy says that you should exchange the cards in these hands in some way. A ten and ace of the same suit might look promising, but you should only keep the ace. If you are dealt three high cards not of the same suit, then you should keep only the two lowest of those high cards. If you have four low cards to a straight, and the card you need to make your straight is inside of your four cards, then you should discard everything. This will give you a good start, and other bits of strategy will sustain your approach.

It’s always best to chase the big hand
Jacks or better is a game where you should be chasing big hands whenever you have the chance. With most machines, the payout for your flush will make it worth your while against simply collecting pairs or three of a kinds. The way to win at video poker is by taking home a huge win whenever you get the chance. If you’re ever confronted with the choice of keeping hands that lead to a flush or a straight flush, you should opt for this approach versus keeping your small pair. The math says that this will lead to a better result over time.

Unsuited high cards are worth very little
Too often, jacks or better players like to stockpile those high cards. You’re taught in most games that having high cards is good, and that’s true in this game if those cards are connected or suited. If you find yourself with a hand full of unsuited high cards that don’t connect, do not hesitate to exchange them. You should be looking for flushes, straights, and four of kind hands. Simply trying to nickel your way up with small pairs will leave you losing in this game.
Learn more

Pokies, who knew…

Did you know that early Pokies would award the player with beer or a cigar? Read and share Casino-Mate’s info graphic, A Brief History of Pokies in Australia, to learn more about the fascinating history of gaming down-under and the evolution of the Automated Poker Machine.

A-brief-history-of-pokies-InfoGraphic