When I was a poker pro, it was a badge of honor to “not be results oriented.”
This mindset was critical for a narrow 52-card game, but is MASSIVELY overrated by successful poker players in business/life/pretty much everything other than playing cards.
Yes, the concept of probability/EV is super important when evaluating any decision. But away from the poker table, there are sooo many variables (both known and unknown) involved in any decision and outcome. Results are by far the best indicator of the quality of your decision.
I keep seeing poker players talk about how important “not being results oriented” is in non-gambling situations. I couldn’t disagree more.
In my opinion, this mindset is mostly a defense mechanism to protect your ego from decisions that resulted in poor outcomes. It holds you back from taking an honest look at things and improving your decision making going forward.
In the real world, you can’t pay your rent with Sklansky bucks and no one wants to hear your bad beat stories.