Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players

Abstract:     
There is an old and deep symmetry between litigation and poker, which will be recognizable to any lawyer who ever anted up, sweetened the pot, kept his cards close to the vest, or played her ace in the hole. Great poker players are master tacticians. Not only do they calculate odds with lightning speed and astonishing precision, but they also cunningly anticipate and manipulate the actions of their adversaries. In short, they boast skills that every lawyer can envy. The best card players, like the best lawyers, have a knack for getting their adversaries to react exactly as they want, and that talent separates the winners from the losers.

Lawyers' Poker explores the interface between poker strategy and law practice, showing how poker tactics can be applied to comparable situations in litigation.

In law practice, many dependent variables defy isolation, making it difficult to validate even the most well-recognized truisms. Poker, however, is a game of repetition, meaning that the maxims are constantly being tested and refined. In other words, poker wisdom represents real knowledge (remember, every mistake costs money), which makes it a great strategic guide for litigators.

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