Do you play online poker for profit? Not anymore...

[Kitsune]

America's puritanical roots turn kind of stupid now and then.  Gambling, recreational chemicals, and prostitution are all handled in just about the worst possible ways, while any idiot can buy enough alcohol to kill a grown man from 7-11 and go driving around town.  I'd much rather see those things handled legally with careful oversight than in the shadows.

[naum]

Lotteries? OK and state run (in most U.S. states)…

Bingo? Open and legal for non-profits (outside of some fringe cases)…

Casino gambling? OK in many states on "Indian" land, on water for other states…

Dog & Horse Track betting? Fair and legal in all states AFAIK, OTB betting at bars and remote points enabled for some states…

Sports betting? Only in Nevada…

Though here in Arizona, non Indian casino poker rooms have opened for business, a bold challenge that's been met with prosecution in the past, but to date, these outlets are still live & local:

http://www.pokernationusa.com/

They even have a live webcam up & running:
http://twitter.com/pokernation

Get around the law by the house not raking the pot itself, as the players pay a button charge when they have the button. Proponents say this makes this enterprise lawful. And believe authorities won't prosecute because they don't think they can get a conviction.

[Mosesandstick]

If that's how you figure out how to add a post-tax to your price, then you are one of those "stupid at math" people I was referring to.  You're in good company, so don't feel too bad.

Whaaaaaat? I'm confused, how else do you add tax? 

[Cyrrex]

Kinda hard to explain.  Your brain just has to understand the numbers well enough that you can A) muliply simple numbers in your head and B) not get tangled up in decimal places and C) round numbers off effectively. 

For a simple example, if something costs $16.99 and I know the tax is 8%...in the span of no time flat, I convert that to 17 dollars, multiply 8 x 10, then 8 x 7, and then add the result together (136).  I immediately know that the tax is $1.36.  I recall that I rounded up, and then subtract the offending penny.  Add the original amount to this figure.  Total cost of item is $18.35.   That's a simple example of what my brain is doing, but I'm not really thinking about it.  It takes a couple seconds.

Yes, doing the same example with a more difficult tax percent (say, 8.3%) is a little harder and will take a little longer.   But all it really does is give you one more thing to multiply, and then add, so it isn't much of a problem. 

I might be a bit of a freak.