Re: Being told \"professional poker doesn\'t contribute to society.\"
Couple things...
1) The taxes thing is a red herring, it has no bearing on the original question. I don't feel like explaining why.
2) Dima is right, being a winning (+EV) poker player is actually destructive, not just non-productive.
3) Day-trading is an excellent comparison. In general, investing is productive, but I think day-trading in a +EV way but without holding any of the securities overnight does equate to pro-poker as a non-productive profession.
If you think of the poker as entertainment production, with the basic transaction of rake-tip exchanged for entertainment, pro players are just a net-drag on the process, sort of like a transaction cost, or even a 'tax'. They essentially reduce the amount of entertainment received for a certain amount of rake paid by a non-pro.
You could say the same thing with investing and +EV day-trading. With the basic transaction of capital in exchange for returns, and the day-trading reducing the returns, thus being an unproductive drain on the process.
Good call Abba.
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