Given that I play the high stakes/high drama world of 3/6 to 4/8 limit, poker is obviously a recreational rather than professional activity. Still, it is nice to have a hobby that makes rather than costs money. All the ones my wife enjoys are the other way around
Reading this thread so far, I'd again suggest that even for the casual player, it is important to keep good records. Online this is a no-brainer. PT and other software can track your # of hands and earnings/loss down to the penny. For live play, it doesn't take long to keep Excel sheet detailing every session. And then you don't have to guess at these kind of questions.