The reputation as a "money sink" is somewhat undeserved. It can require a several hundred to several thousand dollar up-front investment, depending on how you p

The reputation as a "money sink" is somewhat undeserved. It can require a several hundred to several thousand dollar up-front investment, depending on how you play, but it's the only hobby I've ever seen where that investment can not just maintain but grow in value. I'm probably up $10,000 lifetime from Magic, though I got in early and invested heavily in older cards, so I'm something of an outlier. Absolutely anyone with the time to devote to learning the market can at minimum take very few losses. At the pro level, not that many players actually own the cards they play with. They're borrowed from collectors or loaned from shops. The cost of a deck is basically not an issue at the pro level. At the grinder level, yeah, the up-front cost can be. Most pro players probably do come from a reasonably privileged background, because you need to be able to spend the spare time to get good and have the resources to get to higher-level events to get good and qualify for the Pro Tour (the Online version mitigates travel costs somewhat, but it itself comes with costs). But I doubt most people trying to get to the Pro Tour are not any more wealthy than an average WoW player. Most grinders are college-age guys living on the cheap. Money is not the differentiating factor. IMO not being all-consuming is a factor (you think about it all the time, but you can't play it all the time short of spending $10/hour Online). If you're a pro performing well enough to be invited for an entire season, you technically only have to play four one-week events per year. Being physical and physically social is a factor. Being more analytical is a factor; notable numbers of pros have gone on to careers in stock trading, gambling odds-making, etc.