Speaking of experience: What is the most important is how much you cash out each month. I played poker for around half a year and what kept me from the high stakes was that I cashed out too much. I burnt so fucking much money (relatively of course) on crap. (One of my online acquiantances told me that I had a bustwish. "To bust and quit." In a way he was right).
Starting with a small bankroll is no problem. You just have to adapt and live off almost nothing in the beginning. Cash out no more than 5-10% of your bankroll each month and you will soon be playing 20/40FL or 1kNL.
To me poker became extremely boring after a short time. I got no fulfillment from sitting in front of my computer all the time. The solitude is MUCH worse than the stress. If you are not making 100k-200k a year it is not worth it. And still then you will be lonely. Things might go easier if you have a girlfriend/wife to bring love in to your life. Most young players are single though (I think. Just a guess).
The last con is that you gather almost NO valuable points for your CV. Say you are a poker pro for four years and then have some sort of a wish for a change. What are you going to write in your application? "Professional poker player 2006-2010" ? Well, being a pro poker player shows that you are clearly intelligent and disciplined. Most company managers wouldn't know though. You'd be surprised how little people outside the poker world know about poker. And even if they did they wouldn't care anyway. All they want to see are the A+ses on your college certificate.
So what is the future like? Look a few years ahead. If you are successful: Total economic independence. So after, say, four years you should have saved up money to invest in something else. Buy a starbucks franchise or something. Or whatever you find interesting or valuable at that time. Use your own imagination. Come up with ideas. You need a plan. Noone plays poker as their only income their whole life. If you are not rich after the four years have passed: Well, then you are pretty much in deep shit. Lonely and depressed and nowhere to go. Most don't realize before it's too late. Blinded by the glitter and shining WPT.
So in the end college might not sound so bad. Just show up and get to work. Then you can build an ok middle class living. (Says the lazy affiliate hypocrite. :lol
