Some perspective here,

I'm 38 and have been through various "careers", none of which I've found very fulfilling or enjoyable. If you're one of the lucky few out there that have found their "bliss" then all the power to you.

For the rest of us who are still searching (and I'm sure that's 97% of us), the thought of doing something I enjoy immensely as a living is very attractive. Imagine if I could watch movies for a living, or play video games (which some people I know do), or any other number of things I enjoy.

Of course you're going to lose that "honeymoon" period where you might not like it as much anymore, but hell, it's like that at any job that you force yourself to go to every day. At least with poker you make you're own hours, definitely have more freedom, and unlike a steady salary, have the potential to make much more than your "base" if you will. I know, I know, you also have the potential to make much less, but you have to plan for that, and hey, you could still get layed off from your regular job and have down time in between, who of us has savings socked away for that?

What I'm trying to say is, playing poker, as long as you enjoy it, seems like a perfectly fun way to make a living, as long as you can handle the swings and the uncertainty of a salary that's not guaranteed (and don't a lot of sales jobs out there pay commission? that seems like a salary that fluctuates).

Anyways, I'm currently playing NL50 with the intent of being at NL200 by summer/fall 2006 and going pro then. I'm not being greedy (looking to make $45,000 USD) per year. I love poker now, and already play 20 hrs./week, and wish I could play double that.

And soon I will. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers.