The problem with poker is that it is not a progressive career. Usually with a career you will be rewarded for the hard work and experience over the years. It is possible to make $50k with application at the moment but Pokerstars have promised more changes this year so that might not last for very long.

I'm talking about people smart enough and disciplined enough to beat poker in today's games... not the general population. Most somewhat smart people that make less than 40k made really big life mistakes. I know plenty.. for many of them that mistake is to continue to play poker for a living instead of transitioning into something else. It is possibly to learn some kind of technical career or start a business while playing poker.

unfortunately u are years behind if you think you can play us fish in the near future apart from acr/bcp or some other semi legal sites...

poker confirmed dead @ NL2...

lol, USA-centrism in this thread is just absurd, especially since you can't even play on most online sites from there...

1k$/month is a solid salary in many parts of the world, and I'm not talking about third world countries

1k$/month is not a solid salary in many parts of the world unless you live by yourself and yourself alone, it's so weird how people think nowadays, as if all the money you made was always meant for yourself only

I disagree with you and I completely agree with the person that made the initial assertion. $1,000/month is an absolute fortune in many, many parts of the world. And for some people this may be their only option for income (think about countries with high levels of unemployment, regardless of how educated you are). The fact that $1k is a lot of money is constantly overlooked by people who evaluate online poker - it's having a pretty strong effect on sites like Poker Stars without most people even realizing it.

I think you're making some assumptions on what the "standard" career path looks like. While it may be possible to increase your income over time, that's not always the case and far from guaranteed. Are you familiar with the concept of "at-will employment"? Basically it means a company can fire you at any time. If you ask for too much money, get too old, get too whatever, then its . .. at-will employment.

There is a lot to be said for the self-employed nature of playing poker.

$34,000 a year puts you in the global "infamous" 1% club. No BS. The global median salary is $1,225 a year.

The problem is most people judge their life by the likes of the US, where the top 1% of Americans earn at least $500k a year.

In places which seem like pretty developed countries like Argentina, even occupations that require high level intelligence and training e.g. doctors pay very poor wages by US standards. Average Monthly Salary in Argentina for a Physicians, $400 a month, Architect, $1000, Lawyer, $1500....

Most mid level apartments in the US are 1K a month, not to mention car,car insurance gas,food, health insurance and thats without girlfriend expenses,or schooling.

1k a month is what you'd make on unemployment 99% of americans would be absolutely F'd unless they had supplemental benefits and even then they would still be severley poor.

Americans make more but the cost of living is within porportion to our median salary. Now if i could take my current salary and live in thailand or mexico I could make it rain every night.

I am assuming that a successful poker player is clever enough to retrain as say a commercial airline pilot or something like that. Even in your worst case scenario the sacked/redundant employee has marketable skills and experience.

This thread should be renamed to "Why would anyone start taking online poker seriously in 2016?"

Live poker is still insanely profitable

median wage in eastern euro is smth like 15-20k$ per year and it's not as poker is gonna die any time soon. So yes, it is def +ev for some ppl become pro.
Also the career argument will lose its weight over time, cause modern generations are not career-driven anymore so wages will become more even in the long run, seniority won't be a factor anymore.

sigh...

Poker has never been a good career choice long term. Nothing has changed.

The game is decline, nothing last forever. There may be an upward turn in 5 years, or 10 years, who knows.

But poker is never a good basket to put all your eggs into.

lol, I point out irrational USA-centrism itt, and I get in response "but 1k$/month is nothing in US!", you realise you're just proving my point, right?

I live in Poland, which is one of the richer eastern european countries, and trust me, 1k$/month is a solid pay for a young, single person. And it is more than a (net) median pay, which according to wiki is around 750$, and if you register as unemployed you get free healthcare and other stuff from public sector.

Every time I read those threads I get so fkn mad... idiot egoist americans uuu aaa 100k is not enough, oooh 40k per year is ****t. ****k you ****ts I make 400$ per month, ok I dont work fulltime but still. AVG SALARY is 900$ HERE! and you need to be a DECENT SOLID HUMAN TO MAKE 900$.. ok lets talk about little bit easier jobs... SUPERMARKET CLERK MAKE 390€ OR SOMETHING WORKING FULL TIME OR EVEN MORE THAN FULL TIME. fk u americans u think everybody get 50k working some average job, house, 2 cars, and 3 vacations per year? NO morons. RENT STARTS FROM 250$ PER MONTH IN THE ****TIEST 1 ROOM APARTMENT in poor neighbourhood or project styled housing 9 or 16 floor high made from concrete and what im talking about ? BALTIC STATES MFKER DO YOU UNDERSTAND? THIS IS NOT ***** UGANDA. cyka idiots itt. YES OFC nl2 IS UNBEATABLE WHEN I CAN PLAY nl2 OR WORK IN ALCOSTORE OR MACDONALDS WITH SAME OR LESS MONEY... every ***** one would rather play nl2 and nl5 8 tabling zoom from his home than go to work with -20 degrees celsius with ****ty co workers and fked up bosses to work for same money now think twice. everybody dont get 50k. 10k PER YEAR is solid for eastern europe, and eastern europe isnt even 3rd world country. Even winning 12k from poker for someone whos from country where avg salary is about the same OR LOWER is fkn good money. im tired of yall sugar coated idiots. even ur **** people in ghetto on walfare get more money from your country than we make in a month. there is no way out unless you get lucky or hustle hard and do illegal ****t or all 3 combined. how can u go to school when u need to pay rent eat etc. its **** designed trap. atleast poker gives hope. AND YES I AM THAT UKRAINAN NIT WHO PLAY 21/18 and fold QQ pre flop in NL2 to grind my 10bb/100 winrate, I DESTROY UR GAMES BUT IT'S JUST TO HAVE BEST POSSIBLE LIFE FOR MYSELF i am "that guy" who you always talking about nitty eastern european playing nl2. you dont know storys why those people do it. its easy.. nl2 is better than working around here... and playing nl25 ( NO LIE ) you can live very **** good lifestyle. so stfu about poker dead... yes poker dead if u cant win 500k per year playin 100 hours per month.. yep then its dead. as long as u can make 500$ per month its alive so alive and i milk that ****tt.. anyway I personally dont play nl2 anymore but point stays the same...

Weren't there like 400 SNE's in 2015? I'd imagine at least 3/4ths of those don't lose more than 10-30k pre-rb so that's 300 100k winners right there. I can't imagine the total is over 1000 though, if you include spins and mtts then maybe.

I'd like to say I'm sorry I live in the richest country in the world, and you live in a third world ****hole, but that would be a lie, so I won't.

OP's link is only for 25/50+ players... Comon man!

There are hundreds if not thousands of guys making 100k+ a year from poker.

So many sites, live cash, rakeback, etc

Poker is still a relatively easy way to make 100k

255k peeps at the tables right now. You do realise OP that not everyone plays poker because they want to become next Moneymaker or IsilDurrrr or whatnot? How about simply clickin buttons 4 fun? Some drink, some hookers, some blow, some watch movies, some read books, some play poker... So? Everyone has to be 24 tabling grinder?

what a bizarre statement, no matter how you look at it.

this thread is aids, facepalms all over the place.

dont say nothing motherfkers just STOP WHINING. and enjoy making money from home even if it is 100$ per month. as long as you can win money no matter what amount poker is not dead. poker is dead when it is impossible to make money due to A) rake, B) no games to play. then it is dead. for years ive seen these threads but still top regs print easy... **** funny

To make it full time in 2016 you need to love this game and have a true passion for it. Simple as that.

Most people just play poker for the money... or the illusion of money. Or the lifestyle... or the illusion of the lifestyle. Bottom line it's a lot of hard work. And even when you get there, it's even more hard work.

You gotta be one of those guys we hear stories about where they shot baskets every night until 2am, or the only way you were leaving the pond hockey ice for dinner was being dragged away kicking and screaming. You have the play for the love of the game.

Good for Poland