[samoleus]

lapoker,

thanks very much for the honest and insightful response. I am 33 years old, so although I am not one of the young college kids - I certainly can't "coast in" either. The inherent difference between you and me might be that I do not obtain a tremendous amount of pleasure from my professional career. It is a job that is at times interesting, at times rewarding, at times frustrating, but never one that gets me excited. I do not think that great success at poker will make me feel great about myself.

However, I do expect that the time and flexibility that playing poker full time will provide me will enable me to take an active role in raising my children, spend more time with my wife, and perhaps later in life take on a less profitable but more rewarding side job - like coaching high school soccer (I used to be a professional soccer player before an injury cut short my career after only 1.5 years).

So while I agree with you wholeheartedly that poker will not be a means of fulfillment for me, I think that if I am able to deal with the issues of health insurance, ongoing legality, continued success, etc, - it will provide me with the time and flexibility to fulfill myself through other means that I might not have the time or inclination for if I kept my current professional status.