Hello
As someone who works with one of the big poker companies, I can say that I do consider online gambling a form of entertainment that on average costs the users a small fee to use - in a way similar to how movies cost to be produced and offered in your local cinema. Sadly this way of seeing the business is not widespread, and many in the company are thinking in terms of getting people's money off them...
Poker for me is a fascinating game because it is so multidimensional - there is math and game theory in it, but there is a great psychological factor too. It requires memory, focus, perception... and I have learned many life lessons from it! To name one - you can work very hard and do everything perfectly and still lose - once you feel that this is ok, your spirit becomes really difficult to break! In complexity I feel that poker surpasses chess, and the only game that I find can be comparable is Go, although I don't know Go well enough to make such a statement. But the way that the trapper can turn out to be the trapped in poker and in Go is amazing.
Light or dark - first, while I find merit in Steve's idea, I'd not use the words light or dark, nor make the analogy to star wars... In playing winning poker you take people's money.. however you can not take anything that they do not give you from their own will. You certainly offer value - in terms of being a stong competitor people can play against - there are businessmen who like to play really high stakes against the very best - not at all to make money but for the challenge - and they don't mind to lose.
There are many weak people who become addicted or gamble in an unreasonable way, but while I personally woundn't like to take their money, it was their choice to sit at the table, and I very much respect choice even self-destructive one, for it is only when one realizes that it is his choice to take a certain action, can he also choose do take another action instead.
So if you feel good about being a "shark", about being able to outsmart the others, continue to play. If not then orient yourself towards something else, if you can win at poker, then I believe that you can be successful in many other things if you open your mind and perception to them.
By all means start your poker school. You are able to do an excellent job, and it can become a high quality resource. It will both make you feel good to share your knowledge and it will provide you with an additional income that will buy you some time, which is always good.
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