[PokerAce]

Here's what I recommend you do. Calculate how much you earn per hour of work. Say you make $50k/year at your current job. That comes out to about $24/hr ( ($50k/52)/40) ). Now, when you can earn $96/hr at poker and have $50k saved, you can consider quitting your job.

That might sound really high, but let me explain. First, you should have a year's worth of living expenses saved. I know people recommend 6 months, but to be safe, you want more. Second, unless you are a machine, it's very unlikely that you'll be able to play 40 hours of poker a week. 20 hours per week is much more likely. Don't forget that you will also be introducing new expenses, such as additional taxes and medical insurance. You also need to be growing your bankroll while you play and sticking some of your winnings away in long term savings for the future.

Take it from someone who took the leap a bit prematurely. You'd much rather be overbankrolled and have more savings than you'll need than to be underbankrolled and have to worry yourself sick over every downswing.