Good luck to you when that time comes. Where do you live currently?

people are all different man, haven't you noticed this by now? some people will be completely fine grinding for a decade, some others would want to off themselves

Chicago Burbs

Unless you just love Vegas, there is much better options to play live poker, FL, for example. Vegas games blow a good majority of the time. Best of luck when the time comes!

Seemed like a reasonable statement to me.

I agree with AC Slaters original post that every CNS is different and I partly agree with what you just wrote there too. Problem is ....just like degen gamblers many poker pros are in denial of the adverse effects rendering them fish at life. Which is a huge shame

I really don’t think there is any career where you can compare the effects of long term mass tabling online. Leather asses thread about his health issues from grinding was poignant. BigAisnotOks post has been ignored. Chuck Bass situation is another sad one. Some guys just can’t let it go

I don't think somebody is delusional for disagreeing with the idea that poker is literally the world's most stressful and emotionally damaging career.

I don’t think anyone ever suggested it was. Maybe I missed a post

There would appear to be quite a few people posting in this thread who struggle with this profoundly simple fact.

Sure, and maybe there're some people out there who are giddy about showing up every day for their data entry job.

There's a reason why there are so few online grinders over the age of 40 though and it's not because your mind melts and you stop knowing how to play.

Everyone enjoys it the first several months - when you're learning the game, and plugging numbers in to figure out what your hourly rate could potentially be - it's exciting. Then you do it for a few years and the novelty of learning something new wears off and you're just performing a repetitive task like you would in any other job.

Debate about playing poker for a living being financially viable aside, I think this point and 'fulfilment' are the main reasons why I wouldn't go pro personally.

I love poker but TBH I'd be slightly embarrassed to tell friends & family that I was a 'professional poker player'. The vast majority of people in society wouldn't think very highly of it as a career and would just view you as a gambling addict, especially here in Australia...I don't know if it's different in the US.

Also, although I hate the 9-5, I do get some fulfilment from my job. Learning new skills, working on new projects, meeting new people through work, building a career and getting promotions/pay increases, working at different companies and in different industries etc. Plus the fact that typically your work is contributing to society through a product or service that people find useful.

I think the dating and fulfillment aspects can easily be negated depending on other lifestyle choices.

For example, I'm 33 but haven't gotten the sense that "online poker pro for 10 years" has been a negative in the dating world, but that's mainly because I've lived abroad in a few countries which probably gives "poker pro" a more worldly view.

Poker per se isn't fulfilling, but it's led me to learn 2 languages and discover new places I likely never would have without poker, and make friends all over the world. In this sense, it has given me the chance to lead what I consider a fulfilling life.

I also got into yoga and meditation as a result of looking for a way to find balance in the sometimes stressful poker world. I became a yoga teacher a few years ago, and could see myself teaching classes in the future not necessarily as a vehicle for profit, but just because I enjoy helping others grow.

So poker in and of itself isn't necessarily fulfilling or attractive, but I think it can be a vehicle towards these things if you allow it to be. Like anything, it is mostly about finding balance. As a self-employed person, it is very easy to either be obsessed by poker and be a shut-in staring at a screen all day, every day. And it can also be easy to be lazy as **** and not put in the work to make sure money is coming in. I have been at both ends of the spectrum, but as I've progressed with poker I've gotten much better at finding a happy medium.

I think adam's posts itt are spot on.
I feel like I could have said those things in my head but never been able to get them out in writing in any form, so I feel it was very well thought out and even though many won't realize it, valuable info.

I am a married mother in my late 30's, started playing poker online and live mid 2000's was full time by 2008 and am still grinding online and live full time here in NJ. I am also married with a husband who does the same thing and we have a 2-year old son.

Just like all of you, I've been through many phases of my career. I've been a live pro, an online pro and now I am a poker playing mama hybrid

When our son was born, I anticipated not working (playing) for 3 months...and it ended up being almost 18 months Being a one income household from poker during that time wasn't always the easiest, but it was what was best for our son and at the end of the day that's all that really matters!

Here's the bottom line:
Remaining profitable and having the flexibility to stay home with my sick kid for a week,...
or going to FL for 2 weeks to see friends, ...
or dropping everything to go and take care of my sick grandmother who lived 90 minutes from me several times per week,...
Being able to do all of this makes it all worth it and I'll do it as long as I can!

You sound like a good lady gl!

I don't know why you don't attempt to have both worlds... Full time employment and poker. It's not easy but it is doable (without the financial stress of playing full time).

I'm 46... Started playing when I was 28, got serious bug after winning my first micro MTT at 29 for $700. And I continue to still play today, all while holding mid-level management positions the entire time.

I think the benefits of working and playing poker is that you can generate steady income from full time employment and supplement that with poker. You can build your vacations around "poker get aways" like different events WSOPc, WSOP, LA, FL, Europe.

I find that my advantage as a parttime serious rec is that I'm more hungry for the win. I don't have as many tables up (online) as a pro and can exploit them a but easier. I wont go into Strat here, but its a matter of quality over quantity for me.

If you're disciplined enough to properly invest your profits and can live comfortably without work or poker... then maybe it would be ok to play poker fulltime. Besides, with the experience and financial freedom you gain today will set you up to hit the seniors circuit with huge advantage.

40 and a half and grinding part-time aside wife and kid and a well-paid job. For the lolz and for the fun and for the papes.

Mostly online but very rarely I'm itching to go out and get all social and donk in an actual brick and mortar casino.

Started some 10 years ago and earned some dough while writing my thesis and aside a not that well-paid job fresh off the uni back then.

this guy likes to point out the fish in life. He once told me I write like a 12-year-old, yet, every time I read a post of his, I can't help but think the same of him.

replace "......" with a comma, like the English language would suggest.

"which is a huge shame" is not a sentence, there is no subject.

this guy is always lurking these types of threads shaming poker, but yet here he is, still lurking. I guess he is trying to help us fish that are in denial of the adverse effects of poker, the problem is, I think he's swimming deeper than most of us so it's going to be hard to help us.

I've had him here since Stars took rakeback away over two years ago. He's always trying to put grinders down. He's just a loser and a jelly piece of trash.

let the aids run through him

This is a really good post.

Saw this thread and decided to weigh in even if it's a bit late. FWIW I'm a 22yr old pro and have been playing full time for a living for the past 6 months.

Couple things I think are important for you to consider... First, unless you're currently crushing 200z or higher on Stars, I'd write off playing online professionally altogether. But wrt live poker, one can definitely still be optimistic re the existing climate.

Other things are whether you're single, have any dependents, what your monthly expenses are, availability of games, EV in those games, and a longterm gameplan.

FWIW, while the 2/5 grind has become slightly more of a grind lately, I still very much have the same passion for the game I did 6 months ago. I'm actually more excited than ever now re poker. Idk, maybe I'll completely hate my life in another 6 months but I honestly can't foresee that at this stage.

@OP, honestly I'm fairly aggressive re taking risks in life and career etc. A lot of people here think having a degree and career is the absolute nuts but I fervently disagree with this - anyone working 55+ hours a week should be making A LOT of money or should absolutely loooove what they do. Sounds to me like neither of these are the case for you.

Based on that and the fact that it's very difficult to regret giving it a crack but very easy to regret never having given it a go, combined with the fact that you still have your degree and can resume your job whenever, I'd 100% definitely give it a go.

GL

Also working 50+ hours a week and playing ANY poker with the intention of actually making money on top of that workload is suicide imo. You'll just grow to hate poker and hate your job even more.

I guess I think about things like if you are 23 or 28 or whatever and going pro it is a little late. And a little sad. Or maybe just lacking guidance? I mean WE (30s and 40s) all play because we have developed somewhat of a static hourly over the course of a decade that makes sense to at least play for part-time income.

When I was 29 in 2007 there was a REAL chance to financially retire. WE saw that and seized the opportunity to print money. Now I did not retire but I certainly made over 1M. And I worked about 30 hours a week my whole 30s. Regrettably lazy but it's a lifestyle profession.

I guess I don't see an easy way to make six figures a year these days. If you're 20 and cool with 45k, okay but why not be more ambitious?

Also, I think about things like how I am a fixed limit holdem specialist. IF you study for 5 years straight you will not catch up to me.

You might say FLH??!! WTF!!! Okay, but that was the hot game for a while when you were 13. If you are an Omaha or NL player you are in much hotter water. You would have to study for 10 years and still not catch up. You will always beat 200NL but never a 10 yr minted online specialist in those formats. So high stakes and high income is for sure out of the question.

But the sad part is why you would want to try when there are so many bright opportunities for someone your age.

What about being a forced drug mule for the Black Guerrilla Family in Ironwood or serving on the Western Front in WWI?