Quote:
Originally Posted by icanadd
Strictly from a wealth creation perspective a corporate job for 100k is usually a lot more valuable than 100k from poker. Most corporate jobs come with health insurance, 401k match and other perks like company phones or cars and life insurance. Also a 100k corporate job ties up zero dollars of your capital.
I would guess in most cases 65 to 75 k gross in the corporate world is the same as 100k from poker since you need to pay for insurance taxes retirement etc. 100k from poker feels like a lot more since nothing is with held. I would suspect but do not know that many young poker pros skip insurance and under represent their income for taxes. This can be a positive in the short run but catastrophic in the long run.
Also not all corporate jobs suck. There are plenty that can be interesting and enjoyable. In my experience most people are unwilling to take the risk/change to move into an are that suits them. The get a half decent gig and live for the weekends.
For me personally getting to 100k in the corporate world has been easier than becoming a winning player. That said I have ran good in the corporate world. Every successful person catches some breaks. In my opinion there are many more breaks to catch in the working world than poker.
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In my experience, I'm not entirely sure a corporate income is that much more valuable than a poker income, or if it is more valuable at all. Here's my experience:
My healthcare insurance covered through an employer was great, but I still pay my part of the cost monthly and I need to clear a deductible and pay a copay for treatments I decide to get. For example, I had to go to an ER through an ambulance and the ambulance ride alone cost me a couple of hundred dollars out of pocket after insurance.
So not only is most health insurance plans set up to disincentivize you from using it to get treatment, but if you do get treatments that are expensive enough for insurance to really be helpful, you're still paying thousands upon thousands for it.
After I made the transition to poker, I've found that I spend far less money on healthcare by simply traveling to other countries that have first rate healthcare but none of the mark up that America has. In many developed nations, you can just pay out of pocket for your healthcare and still pay less than you would in America with a great insurance plan.
And I believe that 401k matching only really bump your salary by a few percentage points vs poker. Most companies match 50% on the dollar for around 5% or 6%. That's a great perk but it's only good for an additional 2.5-3% of your salary. And this money is also not completely liquid and free money that you can decide how to best use. So while you can invest it into some index fund, you can't take it out and put it into even more productive use without incurring penalties that further reduces the perk relative to your income.
And also, there is the issue of taxes. I have many European pro friends who do not get taxed on their poker winnings because these do not count as taxable income in their countries. So for them, earning $100k is getting the same take home pay as someone who earns 40%-50% more. And these people still get the benefits of universal healthcare. Combined with generally lower income in Europe, poker as a profession becomes even more attractive of an option for these kids. For American players, for those who declare their taxes, they can at least avoid state and local taxes by picking where they reside and play poker.
So yea, I'm not entirely sold on a traditional job's income being worth more than a poker income. Especially for poker players who are smart with their finances and know how to reduce their tax burden and understand how to use their flexible schedule and free time to more actively invest their money in higher return investments.