[NickDollar]

creed,

I am at a similar crossroads in my life. Like many other youngish players, I began playing poker about a year ago online with my $50, and have earned enough to have realized that I have the potential to relinquish my studies and profit off the enormous poker boom by "going pro." It seems a very attractive and easy way to make a living.

I started playing poker halfway through my senior year of high school, and before the first day of college I was already nearly certain I was going to drop out that year and use poker as my source of income. (To be clear, I did NOT drop out "to play poker" -- there were many personal reasons for that and poker was just the means that allowed me to do so. And I do plan on going back to college in the future, so ignore this issue.) Anyway, I've been doing well enough and as a result I'm being pulled in both directions. I love my current poker lifestyle, yet I want to, as the phrase goes, do something with my life.

So as you said, the problem is whether a poker player capable of succeeding on a high level (thus GENERALLY rather intelligent, talented, ambitious, etc) chooses to play poker exclusively, or chooses to instead play some poker but concentrate on a career where the benefits, socially and personally, are more than just monetary. To this dilemma I don't think there is a right answer. I believe most people will feel a desire to apply their skills in another way eventually. However, I certainly would not fault someone who is perfectly happy multitabling a 3-6 game and pulling in 50-200k a year for life.

My personal situation/view is this: I love poker. I am fiercely competitive, fiercely independent, and am not bored by repetition. Thus, playing poker for long periods of time solely to win money is satisfying to me on many levels. I am only 18 and the freedom I have doing this is a blessing. I am young and taking a break from school to essentially live an adventure is, well, awesome. I just want to have fun, travel, do what I want, and enjoy life with the money I win for a few years. Eventually I think I'll head back into academics or start a business to begin living a more societally fulfilling life, but who knows. I want to enjoy life now, and poker is a great means for doing so.

I think I rambled a lot, might add more or clarify later....

P.S. I play in the same games as creed, and maybe our games are ridiculously soft or something, but I don't see 200k/yr as unattainable at all. I am highly confident he can beat it for more than that amount.