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Originally Posted by checkraisebluff
Also, it's actually not easy as pie right now to just go and pick up a 40k+ a year job with benefits. In what Utopia is everyone living? Have any of you actually had a construction job, or worked at a restaurant?
No. Most of us saying this have life skills and experience that make entry level jobs unnecessary. It could be that Day 1, our smart poker player would make less (even CV-wise) than he would at the casino. However, someone with the smarts and discipline to win full time at poker would likely progress out of an entry level job quickly. That's the thing, a person who has what it takes to succeed in poker also has what it takes to succeed elsewhere. In addition with good marketing, our successful poker player may be able to skip a couple rungs on the ladder coming in. We don't expect this person to be a cashier at McD's or a Starbucks Barista for long, if they even start there.
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That being said, people need to be honest with themselves about their true abilities and faults. If you really can beat the game for 40k+ a year though, I disagree that there are multiple better options for most people.
Someone who beats poker for $40k/year has the CV equivalent of a steady 1099 job for $20k/year, which is $10/hour. Then you have self employment tax and benefits which makes that worth the equivalent of what, $7-$8/hour as a full time W2? A $40K/year poker job is a terribly low paid job. You also have the opportunity cost of your poker job being somewhat dead-end. If you grind only $40k, how much BR growth can you have? Playing live, are you really gaining the skills you need to move up?
Early in your career, you're investing in the skills/resume to build your real earning power later. If you have a "covers my bills poker job" for 5 years, are potentially losing tons of future earning power. Don't have a career now? Make a plan to get one. Again, the brains and self-discipline required to make it as a poker pro are valuable assets that can be applied to other fields.
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Also, some people are in spots where they don't have much of a choice anyways.
Totally agree that there are some people who may be socially unable to do anything else. For those people, there is no choice. For some people, a very small %, their poker earning power is so large that they can't justify not using it. These guys aren't hand to mouth $40k/year small stakes live grinders. They are on their way to the high stakes cash games.
It think the thing you're missing is that a $40k/year job as a self-employed poker player doesn't compare to a $40k/year day job. It is worth much less due to the uncertainty. For some people, playing poker is their joy. At that point, follow your heart. I predict a tough life, but it may be worth it. However, your hypothetical $40k/year poker job isn't the best job that most starting players can find. It is a bad job, however, for a very few it could be a job that they love.