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A nice living yes, but actually below the avg accountant, attorney, high-producing sales/marketing guy (think real estate). Definitely well below the avg doctor. Even a senior level nurse can make up towards $100/hr.
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I'll concede that a person capable of making 6 figures playing poker tournaments probably has the brains and drive to make the same in some other profession. However there are trade offs.
<ul type="square">[*]a largely anti-social profession vs dealing with company politics/kissing ass to move up/etc.[*]high variance/uncertainty vs flexibility (working hours, where you live, time off, etc)[*]hit top earnings potential fairly quickly (as a poker player, assuming the proper talent/drive/etc) vs 5-10+ years to reach potential in most other fields[/list]
I'm sure everyone can think of a lot more. The decision (either way) isn't as clearcut as the picture you're painting.
I think you also
vastly overestimate the potential earnings in other professions and probably underestimate the earnings of top tier MTTers. I can't prove the later, but this
link indicates that $100 per hour income (roughly 200k per year) isn't as common as you think. Note the following:
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17.23% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $100,000,[6] while another 12.7% fell below the federal poverty threshold[7] while the bottom 20% earned less than $19,178.[8] While the aggregate income distribution tends to tilt towards the top with the top 6.37% earning roughly one third of all income, those with upper-middle incomes also controlled a large, though declining, share of the total earned income.[9][2] Households in the top quintile, 77% of which had two income earners, had incomes exceeding $91,705.
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Note that only 17.23% of households had incomes exceeding 100k (roughly $50 per hour) and that most of these were 2 income families. In another post I got the impression that you might live in the Silicon Valley where incomes and living expenses are both much higher than the rest of the country.
In fly over country where a large percentage of the population lives an income of 100k per year (let alone 300k) is considered very good. I can see how someone might choose a profession that allows him to live where he wants, make a decent income (albeit one totally dependent on his skill and drive while highly influenced by variance - not unlike a real estate salesman) and flexibility in hours instead of a regular paycheck.