I doubt that there are an awful lot. I'd put it at 5000 tops who consistently make a living at poker in any given year, but there could be more-- or less. I would agree with the definition of pro as someone who makes his or her primary income from poker. But there are a lot of rich people who play for fun and make what others would consider a nice living.
Looking at OPR, there are less than 1000 people of the half-million plus who play tourneys that make more than $17K profit in tourneys. (That amount is a bit misleading, but I suppose it can be used as a ballpark.) I don't really know how to search PTR to figure out online ring stats. There's really no way to know who, aside from the name pros, is out there making a living at B&M -- I figure every casino has a few regulars at least. The question is this: who makes a consistent living, and who goes bust regularly?
I would not want to be a pro, exactly. On the other hand, it would be handy for tax purposes... But trying to grind out a living, with variances and rake sounds just grueling. When you need to make your monthly nut in profits... wow, the downswings must be excruciating. So I assume that many people try it out, fail and move on to something more stable.
