Smartness is a trait

If smartness is defined as the player's probability to succeed in the game then it must likely be a state. Here I differ it from strength. Strength is an attribute (at least, in short term), not a state. Things like experience, knowledge etc go in strength bucket. Smartness, in its most general and practical sense, is the ability to find out what to do next and to execute it the best way suited for that person.

Sure, you are smart, then why haven’t you figured it out?

Smartness as ability to learn, adapt and execute is really a breakdown of three things - Knowing what matters (and hence what to do), figuring out how to do, and to just do? Here is the meat - for a player who is playing seriously, he almost always has some idea about what he should do. Most people see 100s of possible ways and remains confused on what to choose. A smart person is able to sift through the sea of options and find 2-3 logical obvious moves. This is only possible if he is `focused` and `fearless`. And both focus and fearlessness, are states. Next - planning - I feel it plays a very small role in the success. adaptability is more important. A smart person know when to slow down and turn. Adaptability is again a state — if you are open, unbiased of the past or your identity, you are adaptable. And, last part - execution - is really a game of confidence. You know what to do, you made some shit plan but you know you will be able to fix it on the go.. and you are confident that you can follow through the path easily.