I had a coworker who literally did a rant, slammed the door of the conference room and quit. He was earning some side money playing online poker then made a go of it full time. His conclusion: This is a lot less fun when it's your sole source of income.
Yeah, even if you are good enough to make a decent wage, it can be boom or bust. On a long enough timeline, there will be times you say, make a bet with 4 aces but get beat by a straight flush[1]
Also, most poker players are American - so they're going to need to cover health insurance.
Maybe when I retire I'll give it a go, but I don't think it's practical to envision retiring early to play poker unless you amassed enough savings you could live without the poker income.
