Here is my advice, I am a winning, mostly stars msnl+ reg since 2006. I also play live 5/10+10/20 and I promise your live analysis is far from reality as you're not accounting for many different factors and simply guessing a very generous winrate then multiplying it and assuming it will never deviate. I would guess the reality is you can play about 25-35 hours a week consistently at 2/5 with an expected long term hourly of 30$, max 50$ if your mental game and work ethic are both very strong. Even if its 50$, it is far from a guaranteed long term wage as the games are constantly changing and evolving, as well as potential for poker to fizzle out altogether for various reasons. You also need to account for getting none of the benefits of a career (healthcare etc). Even if it was a long term guaranteed wage, take my word for it you will NOT want to put in 20-30 hours a week live for more than another 3-5 years in all likelihood. That all said, I wish you luck and you should consider yourself lucky that you have a decently paid job that you enjoy for now.
Advice:
Keep playing poker part time for now.
That said, do everything in your power to figure out a career path doing something you would enjoy somewhat that pays decently. Please do not seriously consider playing poker long-term with your current skill level and likely future trajectory for poker. This isn't an insult, I wouldn't recommend poker long term for 90% of players likely. Spend as long as it takes researching jobs you may enjoy, then commit to whatever it takes to get there. In the meantime go ahead and grind as its going to be more fun and higher hourly than working some crap min wage job, but please plan for it to be short term.
Prioritize research and action for a future career over poker studying in your spare time. I suggest you take this famous personality test :
https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test which is quite helpful as it gives you a deeper understanding of yourself and tells you what kinds of careers you would do well at and enjoy. I also suggest you check out the youtube channel called "actualized.org" and browse through to video titles that you think would help, tons of great free content there. He also offers a life purpose course for ~600$. I also suggest checking out Jordan Peterson lectures online, as well as his recent book "12 rules for life".
Please heed my warning.
You're not in as bad of a spot as you may currently feel. Stay positive and good luck on your journey.
Last edited by adam001; 05-08-2018 at 01:09 AM.