I heard this quote that being a pro poker player is the "hardest way to make easy money."

Having children is an evolutionary impulse.

Having sex is the impulse. We've been able to scratch that itch without having children pretty easily for a number of years now.

The number of and the percentage of 'high income poker players' relative to the poker player pool that can actual make meaningful investments is way smaller than the amount of regular earnings that make meaningful investments. The amount that actually do is infinitely smaller.

I know several and have done business with several mechanics, including those who work for Ford, that easily make around 200K a year in a middle of the row economy. Granted, that is after 10+ years of service. They make another 100-150K doing side work at home for friends and family. Working in an area like NJ/NY/Mass or on the west coast could easily be making 300K+ from just their main employer.

I am sorry, but you are the one that is a little out of touch when it comes to the real job market.

And those that state you need a high education, need to come from money, or need to know people to make good money are off base as well. Absolutely those things help, but they are certainly not prerequisite. Whomever suggested Real Estate is absolutely spot on. Start buying investment properties as soon as you possible can. If you start in your early 20's and add one every year or two every year, by the time you are 40, you will have significant passive income and a lot of raw equity to tap into for larger investment opportunities. If managed properly, you are set for life.

What?? How much are they charging per hour for these "friends and family"?

FWIW, the average union auto worker makes $28/hour according the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Would you rather make 100k as a poker player or 300k as an accountant?

Counter intuitively the accountants making 300k have people under them working really hard so they don't have to.

And partners make a lot more than 300k, and are often wining and dining at SW, Picasso, etc. it’s almost as if there’s a correlation between social skills and making wise decisions.

Do you think his job is common?
Do you make more or less than him?

There is definitely a positive correlation between social skills and income in the business world.

This explains why many people who are lacking in those skills may be better off as a poker pro than a businessman.

what? im saying its weird if you're passionate enough about poker to seek out a mostly niche / dead forum at this point and join it, to constantly log on and complain about the state of poker, and mock professionals. theres a decent number of people that post regularly that do it and i find it really odd. sure it makes sense on social media or whatever where you're already on and you happen to come across a topic that triggers you, but to sign up for 2p2 and regularly come on here to whine about poker / poker pros is is honestly really baffling behavior.

(im not saying you are a person who does this)

Work...benefits...401k..roth..etc

Doesn’t this statement contradict the whole thesis of your OP?
Like, do you think there’s a strong correlation between being a winning poker player and having good social skills?

Many people seek out poker precisely because they don’t want to do stuff that requires good social skills.

I completely agree. Poker isnt really worth it unless your crazy good. Like top 100 talent in the world good.

300k as an accountant and its not even close. If I had a choice between 300k as a poker player or 300k as an accountant I would still take accountant. Variance sucks yo.

You don't think you'd have more fun playing poker than being an accountant? Variance isn't really that big a deal if you have a big bankroll. And I guess it would depend on the stakes of the game you were playing, but if I were making 300k per year I could save an awfully big bankroll pretty quickly.

What? Maybe when you are under 25

You haven't heard of birth control? Check it out.

No idea what you are talking about regarding the "under 25". Birth control generally works for people of any age.

Ok so take your example of someone making 200k after working 10+ years in an industry - I doubt they are making 100-150k doing side work at home, or else they should quit their job and just do side work and make more. Regardless 1-2% of the population is making 300k/yr - 98-99 people out of 100 will never touch this number, so clearly it's very hard to achieve 300k a year. Really no other argument when the stats say it's very hard to achieve.

PS - with the RE I agree with you about buying investment properties, but keep in mind this isn't passive income. There's a lot of work involved when owning a multi family - late night calls, evictions, tenants complaining, city inspections - the list goes on and on. Thinking you're going to own 10-20 of these with no work is far fetched - sure you can hire a management company but they take a cut and now you have to manage them as you can't just allow them to run free with repairs and other tenant requests. SP 500 investment is much better imo for true passivity.

ehh id say fun-wise its a tie lol

Of course, but people tend to use leverage more with RE and if your MAGI is low, you have certain tax benefits.

Um, no not at all. Just because smarter people will do better in poker and in life, or more emotionally intelligent people will see higher rates of success means very little if applied to both. Or that people with better impulse control also do better. Or even better looking people. The list goes on. Such is evolution.

But if you are talking about an online bot with poor social skills going to poker, then they'd be better served being a FAANG type engineer, actuary, whatever and make more $. Surprisingly many people seek out those careers "because they don't want to do stuff that requires good social skills" as you put it.

You raise the interesting evolutionary question that I think is worth considering. Will better looking people do better at poker? There are exceptions of course, but it's this simple: Airball would play better if he were healthier. Certainly yes in the sense that if they are healthy they'll be able to think better and demonstrate more self-control. But I submit an evolutionary fact: better looking people will on average do better. Maybe it's a more controlled sense of self-confidence? But I guess you could argue the opposite, Shawn Deeb types have a chip on their shoulders and therefore try harder, but I think that tendency is less-frequent. Hmmm??? I'm not sure, I guess.

Incorrect on many levels. Do you know how lucrative the automotive industry is, how high costs are, and how much of a mark up there is right now? 2.5% of Americans make 300K+ and that is not taking into account many things, as I have previously pointed out. Self-employed being a large portion of that. An extreme example would be Trump. He lost money on paper for a several year stretch several years ago. Do you not think he was making at least 300K per year during those years? The true number is closer to 5% all things considered and that is still not taking into account the other things you can do to have your money working for you.

In terms of real estate, you would be an idiot to not use a management company if you have more than 1 or 2 rentals and those costs are always taken into account when making a real estate investment decision. That is also not the only revenue stream from Real Estate. Rehabbing properties and selling properties is a gold mine if done right and working with the right people. Investing in REIPs is another. I am sure you can figure out from my posts that I am a real estate investor and I am involved in many other parts of the real estate industry. Just over 26 years exp., so believe what you want.

BTW - Rental properties are 100% passive income, so no idea what you are talking about there. I don't think you understand the definition of passive income based on your post.

You can still play poker and most likely have much more fun since it is just a hobby at that point, while working a regular job making 300K/yr.