Hello everybody - I used to be active on these forums 15 years ago when the poker boom was in full swing. I've since lost my username, but recently came back to the site looking for some information on poker rooms as I plan an international trip for the summer when hopefully the corona situation settles down. A trip down memory lane for me! I was a serious student of the game and was spending all of my time playing NLHE in the mid-2000s as both online and live poker were booming, games were incredibly soft and money was flying. I had just graduated from college and was making more playing a combination of both live and online than any entry-level job I could get with my degree. You'd laugh at my absurdly high win rates playing 2-5 and 5-10 in the casinos and on party poker - in hindsight I was not that good, but still better than most of the players at the time. I was putting off getting a job because the money was so good and came so easy, and I was having a blast playing a game for a living along with the freedom that came with it. But... it all came screeching to a halt as I gave it all up to go to law school. You see, my grandma who raised me instead of my parents was dying and she had always wanted me to be a lawyer (long story), and I wasn't going to say no. Not being one to do anything halfheartedly, I grinded hard in law school and basically gave up playing poker and any thoughts of becoming a pro.

Grandma passed away before I was able to graduate unfortunately, but I finished with honors, passed the bar and went to work at a large law firm in NYC. Since then I've only played recreationally on the occasional visit to Las Vegas, but I do wonder what my life would have been like had I stuck to the game, and I find fascinating the experiences of those who have. I've played the Main Event twice and some smaller tournaments without much success (although I did cash both ME tries, but for low amounts).

Anyway, given there are a lot of "should I go pro" threads on this forum, and some excellent ones from those who have, I figured I would throw up one from somebody who decided "no". Taking your questions.