I have recently been reading the High Stakes No-Limit forum and something that strikes me is their openness about their losses that can sometimes go into the 20k range. I found this openness interesting because as a small stakes player, it is not unusual for a friend to tell me he left a table up $20 when I just saw him drop a buy in.

Now, while it is understandable that we want to all be seen as winners, reason dictates that someone has to be loser. I find that as I progress as a poker player one of the most important things I have done is to stop caring about the money entirely. It was in a sudden moment of clarity that I acquired this and it has transformed my game. I now have no qualms about telling people if I won or lost and do not feel any shame in admitting so.

What I am trying to ask here is if a disregard for money should be sought or whether one needs to understand the value of money and use this to stop playing in games that are probably unprofitable?