Even though I put in wager, a learner comes first (6)
I believe the answer is:
albeit
'even though' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'i put in wager a learner comes first' is the wordplay.
'put in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'wager' becomes 'bet' (synonyms).
'learner' becomes 'l' (as in a learner driver with L-plates on their car).
'comes first' says to put letters next to each other.
'i' put within 'bet' is 'beit'.
'a'+'l'='al'
'beit' put after 'al' is 'ALBEIT'.
(Other definitions for albeit that I've seen before include "Although, despite" , "Conjunction meaning although" , "'Even if, although (6)'" , "Although, since" , "Even though" .)