[Henry17]

1) Over the last 3 years I'd say the game has stayed consistent. About 2003 the games became so soft that it is hard to judge but anyone who can't make money now never will.

2) Commuting does make the job harder. So does the number of hands played / hr. Making decisions isn't hard. If I want to play 1-2 tables I can do it while reading the newspaper. It requires very little attention. Making decisions is only draining when you get to multi-tabling. You might want to decrease the number of tables you play.

I also find equipment makes a major difference. At home I can 8-12 table no problem because I have a duel monitor set up. With my tablet I'm pretty much limited to 4-5 tables. You are playing 6 tables so I assume you have s decent setup?

The one aspect of playing online that is much harder about online is that when it goes bad it is so much faster. You can get hit hard by a series of bad beats in rapid concession and that can be mentally exhausting. Again I think this is a bigger issue if you are playing with a short bankroll and making enough just to live day to day. If you have savings this will be much less draining.

4) The flexibility of the hours is important. I can play right now or if I don't feel like it I can play tonight. When you have a job even part time you'd need to show up at a specific place and specific time.

I think you are under estimating the importance of having plenty of savings. If I run bad for a month I'm not going to freak out. Someone who is a week away from needing rent money is going to be under a lot of pressure. That really changes the mental stress of the game.