[Jamougha]

I'm a professional online player. The advantages are obvious; you can make a higher hourly rate than at most jobs, and you have freedom to work when you want, and as much or as little as you like, within reason. I'm not a CTS-style superstar but midstakes grinders do OK. My plan is to be a dollar millionaire in around 2 years time, which is a nice amount of financial independence, even if it's not [censored] you money.

The main downside is stress. Even if you don't think you stress as a casual player, you will. Stress has a negative impact on your life that extends beyond poker.

The second downside is that you are quite vulnerable to rare and unforeseen events. The UIGEA legislation had a big impact on online poker. Could something else surprising crop up and wreck your plans? Of course. A skilled 9-5 job is much more resistant to this sort of thing

Still, I think it's worth it, at least for me. However looking at your blog I don't think you are really prepared for this.

You have poor bankroll management, something that is death for any pro. Without good bankroll management the probability of you going bust is very close to one. You must correct this before you consider playing professionally.

Also, you are playing live. Playing live at 30 hands an hour means that it is much more difficult to ascertain your winrate. You noted that a recent downswing cut your $/hr in half, in which case you have definitely not played enough hands to have an idea of your long-term expectation. Given that you are currently earning around $22/hr at work and $50/hr playing poker, and that you will probably spend less hours playing than you currently do working - that's just not enough.

Finally it's vital in my view to have a financial cushion in place, so that you are not eating out of your bankroll. I think it is very unwise to go pro without a least 5 month's expenses to hand. Life has a lot of surprises in store. Actually I think this applies to a lot of ordinary people who give themselves far too little leeway for unexpected bad luck, but it's more important for a gambler. I don't know your situation of course.

Overall I recommend you work on your game and bankroll management, and save money. If you can do it sensibly then going pro is a great idea.