More wisdom from Texas Dolly

While there are few things, in the world of cards, that can beat the exhiliration of winning a big pot in a poker game, the truly successful players are the ones who build up their stacks by winning small pot after small pot. Those are the players who have the chips to take a shot at a big pot and not have to worry about busting out. 

They understand that pocket aces and kings generally will either win you a small pot or lose you a big one, and that the best way to play a strong hand in the hole is fast and strong. Limp in with aces and you could be looking at disaster down the road.

"I've built a reputation as an extremely aggressive player. And I don't ever want to lose that reputation. It's what enables me to pick up more than my share of pots.

"In most cases, my opponents are afraid to play back at me because they know I'm liable to set them all-in. So when they don't have a real big hand, they let go of the pot, and I pick it up. The accumluation of all those small pots is a big part of my winning formula. It's the bonus I get for playing the way I do, and it's the secret of my success.

"If I win ten pots where nobody has a big hand, ten pots with let's say $3,000 in them, I can afford to take 2 to 1 the worst of it and play a $30,000 pot. I've already got that pot covered thanks to all the small pots I've picked up. And when I play that big pot, it's a freeroll." -- Doyle Brunson, Super System 2

Down at the courthouse it's great to hear a judge read "not guilty" from the jury's verdict form, but you stand to win more capital by playing your strongest cases hard and fast. Sure, a dismissal early on in a case isn't sexy and doesn't create same buzz as an acquittal at trial. But, with a dismissal you don't have to worry about the six or twelve folks sitting in the jury box and your client doesn't have to go through the private hell a trial can be.

A poker lesson from Texas Dolly

Doyle Brunson is one of the most legendary poker players around. Texas Dolly won back-to-back World Series of Poker Main Events holding a 10-2 in the hole. He's also put together two excellent poker primers: Super/System and Super System 2.

Brunson is a firm believer in selective aggression. By choosing your spots and being relentless when you enter a pot, you can put an almost unbearable amount of pressure on your opponent.

"Like me, all the top players know you have to be extremely aggressive to be a consistent winner. You have to bet, bet, bet, all the time. If I find somebody I can keep betting at and he keeps saying 'Take it, Doyle,' 'Take it, Doyle,' well, I'm going to keep pounding on him. I'm not going to let up. And that poor guy never will win a pot from me. He'll have to have the nuts (best possible hand) or the nerve to call me." --Doyle Brunson, Super System 2

The same principle can be applied in the courtroom. There are some cases in which the facts are pretty clear and the object is to obtain the best possible deal for your client. At the table you'd be looking to dump these hands as quickly as possible.

There are some cases that are monsters. It might be a near-perfect video in a DWI case (or a client who refuses everything), a bad charging instrument, the perfect alibi witness or other evidence that exonerates a client. Just think pocket aces or pocket kings at the table. You play 'em hard and you play 'em fast.

Then there are the marginal cases. These are the cases in which a break here or there, one way or the other, makes the difference between a winner and a loser. It's like looking down at suited connectors or a suited ace or a small pair in the hole. You want to see that flop: if you hit your hand, you pump it, and if you miss your hand, you dump it.

"There's not a man alive that can keep leaning on me. I refuse to let somebody keep taking my money, and all the other truly top players are the same way. An aggressive player might do it for a while. But at the first opportunity I get, I'm going to take a stand and put all my money in the pot.

"It's like that little boy who keeps sticking his head up and keeps getting slapped all the time. Well, sooner or later he's not going to stick his head up anymore. So if a guy keeps going on and on and keeps pounding on me, then me and him are fixing to play a pot." -- Doyle Brunson, Super System 2

When you play fast and hard with your monster cases you pick up a lot of dismissals and reductions and it gives you the ability to make a stand with a marginal case. And if you keep pounding hard enough, when you stand up and go "all in" by announcing "ready," you might just see your opponent blink.