20-Year Prospect
Remember that poker boom we told you about? That was back in 2003, when Beyoncé was still in her Crazy in Love phase and Lindsay Lohan movies were the safest bet you could make.
These days, poker is a much less relevant game (kind of like Lindsay Lohan movies). The worst sign is that poker television ratings are way down. Some people think that there's a chance the game could boom again—and with gambling getting legalized in states that weren't really cool with it before, more people will be able to openly play their favorite game—but we're not sure when that's going to happen.
As with most forms of entertainment, the future is online. Playing poker on the internet is nothing new, but that's where most of the game's innovation is taking place. The simple act of livestreaming games has provided a mini-boomlet that could continue to put poker on a solid run again (source).
Poker is never going to be the most logical choice for a career no matter what year it is. You'll have to handle the losing periods that will surely follow the winning ones. We're not bluffing: it will be difficult, but as long as you ante up and don't fold, the next twenty years may play directly into your hands.