Lets Talk Payouts and Winnings

I understand what you're saying when it comes to playing the lottery. No one ever calculates how much they've spent on tickets over the years they've been playing and subtracts it from the winnings. They just take the winnings and run with it. But let's look at something like poker. Texas Hold'em specifically. Let's say there's a blind of $10 just to play the hand and see the flop. If no one raises that is. But once the flop falls, that $10 you put into the pot, isn't your's anymore. You may have invested it into the pot. But it stopped being your money once you bet it, and remains not yours unless you win it back. Same with betting on the flop to the turn, turn to the river, and ending bets. Even though you may have placed $200 on the table, it's not yours until the hand is over and you've won it. Same here. Once you've placed the bet, that money is no longer yours unless you lose the weight and win it back. You've been winning, so you have the mentality of, "well this was all ready my money". But think of it from the perspective of someone who didn't lose the weight. It was all ready their money, but it's not anymore. So yes, once you've placed the bet, it isn't your money. Therefore making it a part of your winnings, should you actually win. As for the reinvesting aspect and counting it as winnings twice? Well, yeah. You risked it twice, and won it back. So it absolutely counts as winnings. Because once you reinvested it, it wasn't your's anymore. U