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Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players » (Reprint)

Book cover image of Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players by Steven Lubet

Authors: Steven Lubet
ISBN-13: 9780195369014, ISBN-10: 0195369017
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: September 2008
Edition: Reprint

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Author Biography: Steven Lubet

Steven Lubet is Professor of Law at Northwestern University and a nationally recognized expert on trials and trial strategy. He is author of the popular textbook Modern Trial Advocacy, and, most recently, Murder in Tombstone: The Forgotten Trial Wyatt Earp, and writes an award-winning column for American Lawyer Magazine. His humorous commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio's Morning Edition and his op-eds have run in Newsday, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and many other newspapers.

Book Synopsis

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. This highly entertaining work might best be summed up as "better lawyering through poker." Steven Lubet shows exactly how the tactics of the poker table can be adapted to litigation, negotiation, and virtually every aspect of law practice. In a series of engaging and informative lessons, Lubet describes concepts like "betting for value," "slow playing," and "reverse bluffing," and explains how they can be used by lawyers to win their cases. 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 is an irresistible guide to successful lawyering and an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in law. No poker knowledge required.

Table of Contents

Diamonds : maximizing your winnings11
Lesson 1Saving bets15
Lesson 2Expected value17
Lesson 3Don't gamble20
Lesson 4Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember : it didn't work for the rabbit22
Lesson 5Opening hands28
Lesson 6Drawing hands33
Lesson 7Chasing is for dogs36
Lesson 8Yardley's law (and Darrow's exception)41
Lesson 9Losing it49
Lesson 10Desperate times56
Lesson 11Volatility59
Lesson 12Sunk costs63
Lesson 13Stakes matter67
Clubs : controlling the opposition73
Lesson 1Fundamentalism77
Lesson 2Know why you are betting80
Lesson 3Slow playing85
Lesson 4Bluffing90
Lesson 5Reverse bluffing94
Lesson 6Semi-bluffing97
Lesson 7Overplaying103
Lesson 8Calling bluffs107
Lesson 9Loose wiring111
Lesson 10Folding winners115
Lesson 11Establishing patterns118
Lesson 12Implication and storytelling121
Lesson 13Patience127
Spades : digging for information131
Lesson 1Knowledge is power134
Lesson 2Taking their measure137
Lesson 3Tells141
Lesson 4Get what you need146
Lesson 5True lies151
Lesson 6That's acting155
Lesson 7Calling bias157
Lesson 8Paying attention161
Lesson 9Reading value165
Lesson 10Total recall169
Lesson 11The unexpected175
Lesson 12Local rules178
Lesson 13Showing your hand181
Hearts : ethics and character187
Lesson 1Lying190
Lesson 2Cheating196
Lesson 3Scamming202
Lesson 4Banking the proceeds209
Lesson 5The right stuff212
Lesson 6Moral hazards215
Lesson 7Self-control218
Lesson 8Beginner's luck224
Lesson 9You gotta have heart229
Lesson 10Cards speak232
Lesson 11Cross-examination does not mean angry examination235
Lesson 12Beautiful losers241
Lesson 13Poker ain't life246
Rank of hands247

Subjects