[MrDannimal]

You say you're currently playing 30 hrs/wk while teaching? How long have you gone while keeping up that schedule? That is, how likely do you think it is that you'll be able to play 35 hrs/wk with your A game and without hating the decision down the road?

Can you enter the "sub" pool, so you'd have some teaching income (and possibly benefits) during the year, without screwing things up? Even if it was just a periodic breather from the poker grind, it might be nice.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is this: If you take the year off, and seriously work on improving as you play, there's a ROI akin to whatever you might put into a retirement fund. Do the match exactly? Who knows. But if you play 400,000 hands in this year (300/hr, 35 hr/wk, 40 wks/yr), and work on improving, and increase your winrate at 5/10 6max AND increase your skill so that when you move to 10/20 your winrate is good AND decrease the time before you can move up, that all equates to better poker earn over time.

As an example, say that at the end of the year, you're at 10/20 and making 1.5 BB/100. If you stayed teaching, after a year you're still at 5/10 and .9BB/100. 200,000 hands at each (a conservative 1 year of play WHILE teaching, after you reaturn) is 60k vs. 18k. Which means you can easily make up the lost retirement benefits and then some, as your expected earn is higher going forward.

If I were in your shoes, I'd play. I'm not, and I probably won't be anytime soon, so consider that I'm envious and that colors my decision.

Honestly, I think this is one of those things you might look back on years from now and regret not doing if you don't take the year off to play. Maybe not, but still.