“Tournament poker can be very exciting, but like many exciting things in life, it can also be terrifying. There is nothing quite like the thrill of playing at a big money final table. I am often asked how I handle the pressure of playing for such big money. I could give the standard answer of “You have to forget the money and just think about the chips as units.” This is certainly true. But, those units are worth a lot of money and forgetting about the money and prestige that comes with winning is easier said than done.”
Continue Reading for the 4 steps to achieving poker mastery.
This is brutal… From the TaxProf blog:
The big winner at this year’s World Series of Poker: the tax man. Russ Fox computes the tax liability of the final nine players on their $32.7 million of winnings as $14.3 million — a 43.7% tax rate:
1. Peter Eastgate (Denmark) won $9,152,416 — $6,660,545 Denmark tax (72.8% rate)
2. Ivan Demidov (Russia) won $5,809,595 — $755,247 Russian tax (13.0% rate)
3. Dennis Phillips (IL) won $4,517,773 — $1,568,950 federal tax, $135,533 state tax (37.7% rate)
4. Ylon Schwartz (NY) won $3,774,974 — $1,396,304 federal tax, $387,966 state tax (47.3% rate)
5. Scott Montgomery (Canada) won $3,096,768 — $929,030 withholding tax (30.0% rate)
6. Darus Suharto (Toronto) won $2,418,562 — $725,569 withholding tax (30.0% rate)
7. David Rheem (CA) won $1,772,650 — $651,262 federal tax, $170,302 state tax (46.3% rate)
8. Kelly Kim (CA) won $1,288,217 — $470,995 federal tax, $121,074 state tax (46.0% rate)
9. Craig Marquis (TX) won $900,670 — $328,911 federal tax (36.5% rate)
From Gambling911.com:
The Independent on Monday features a lurid tale of how women of Ireland are being drawn into the dark netherworld of online gambling. Some are even bypassing the daily pub crawl in Dublin in order to get their fix.
Irish women’s addiction to online gambling is a virtual time bomb waiting to explode. From Leitrim to Las Vegas, this 21st century phenomenon is both an Irish problem and a global one, writes Celine Naughton.
“My girlfriend is a compulsive gambler,” writes a blogger to an internet addiction forum. “Our bank account looks like she has been laundering money with so many withdrawals and account transfers.
“She also began to steal and pawn items. One victim forgot to grab his laptop computer before he left a bar. She took another laptop from where she works.
“Our Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii were pawned. She made it look like the house had been broken into.”
It is perfectly legal to bet online in Ireland. The nation is home to some of the most prestigious bookmakers - Paddy Power and Boyles - the first of which is one of Europe’s biggest online gambling sites.
For most, Internet gambling is an enjoyable activity that does not involve addiction, but for others: online gambling can become a dark labyrinth for which there is little means of escape, but mostly brought on by the individuals own addictive-compulsive behaviour.
Addiction specialists, Attracta Canny, co-director of Hope House in Foxford, Co Mayo, has seen all the lying, cheating and stealing that goes with addiction, whether associated with gambling, alcohol or drugs, according to Naughton.
“With alcohol and drugs, you can see and smell it. Gambling is hidden,” she says.
“When the reality of their addiction surfaces, gamblers may be hundreds of thousands in debt and it comes out of the blue for those around them. Partners feel that not only is their trust in their loved one betrayed, their trust in themselves is shaken to the core because they never saw it coming.
“It’s a total letdown, like a sudden death in the family. My heart bleeds for the spouses and the parents of gambling addicts.”
Read more HERE
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