[bogey1]

I enjoy poker and have fantasized from time to time about playing for a living. But, it's one dream that shouldn't come true. First, I make a very good living in the tech industry (nearly 100k/year) and to make that much at poker would require a ton of hours. Plus, it'd get mind numbingly dull. Poker is fun...as a hobby. My day job is definiately more interesting overall and has a career path which means I have room to shift what I'm doing a little as I progress.

I'd play poker for a living if:
a) I could "work" about 20 hours a week.
b) Make 125-130k in that 20 hours.

Otherwise, the burnout and variance might, quite literally, kill me (ulcers, stress, etc). If I had to crank out 40+ hours a week of poker knowning my family and mortgage rested on my success, I'd turn into a basket case.

Oh, and to someone that asked, yes, I'd miss the day-to-day consistency of a normal job. Coworkers to talk to, days I can just totally slack and get paid, etc.