im 36, still semi with ambition to go pro one day xD

GL man!!
Keep us informed :D
Welcome to RIO !!!

I have been pro for almost 10 years and i am 47 :)

PM sent

So pleased to see threads like these (I'm 25 but feel old in poker), brings some good perspective to life and poker. Shout out to all the OG's!

Go get yours Brosky. I'm 39, not a pro, been playing for many moons and will continue till I'm pro or die.
I like your idea of having the alternate income.
If I can offer a thought, it might not pertain to you but here go. Dont be a "pro" because you always wanted to. Do it because it is who you are. We tend to do the things we want to in life. Have a great journey.

I'm 36. I was a pro from 23 to 32, quit for 3 yrs to work on a startup, and I'm now a few months back in to playing again. Anyhow, I have a few points that I hope can help:

I think it was Doyle who said that 35 used to be considered young for a serious player. Sure, there are a lot of young guns out there today who are good educated players, but my point here is that if you're in your 30s, you're young, and probably still just entering your prime.

Take the top section in a room like Commerce (I've been spending a lot of time there lately), there are often 2 or 3 big games going and I'd say probably 90%+ of the player pool in those games is over 30 (virtually everyone in the limit games looks 30+ and many are 50+). My point being that big stakes poker (live at least) seems to offer little advantage to the very young. Personally, I feel that in many ways I'm just getting started and have 20 years or so left to play in my prime, and that I've probably only just entered my prime as a player.

I think players under 30 can be truly great, but I also think most or all of them will get better with age if they keep at it, and also that they will have the potential to continue playing at more or less their highest level past age 50. (Sidenote: I read somewhere that chess players peak at 32. I think due to the variety of challenges poker presents, poker players may peak later, but idk. Any estimates?)

I was impulsive in my 20s and I had a chip on my shoulder. I thought I had to prove I was the best and it hurt my progress. Day to day, I'd feel like I was either on the way to being the next Phil Ivey, or on the way to being a pathetic small stakes bustout "pro" fish. The truth was that I was always somewhere between those extremes and improving. I just couldn't see that reality clearly. I was a confident mid stakes player, but I didn't know how to properly recognize where my game was at and what games were truly OK for my bankroll. I managed money very poorly and practiced atrocious game selection. I survived but in the end I got good and broke. But nowadays, it's like I can just get down to business and play (and my results thru 650 hrs are way better than I've ever done in the past). I'm not sure if you're anything like I am/was but I just thought I'd share.

There are a lot of things to balance when playing professionally and I think being a bit older helps because expectations really come into focus, and a lot of ego BS falls away. Make sure to game select well, play in games that challenge you which you can afford, and hone in on some things you can do in your life away from the table which help you to rejuvenate your motivation to play and study.