Poker and the forty eight laws

Which of the forty eight laws do you need to put into play while at the poker table? Experienced poker players say it's this one:

Law 4: Always Say Less than Necessary

So many people around the poker table like to talk, kibbitz, or compare hands after the game is over. Resist the temptation. People try to draw you out, get you to make verbal mistakes so that you will make monetary mistakes.

Concentrating around the poker table is hard enough, let alone having to concentrate and maintain harmless conversation. It's often better to just say nothing.

We are social animals, so needless to say it's very tough to maintain complete silence at the table for hours on end. But the closer you come to this ideal, the better your chances for a big payoff.

The story of Dr. Walker, the legendary attending at Emory University Department of Medicine, applies here. He was known for his unorthodox powers of persuasion, and the most unnerving of these was his silence. He could sit across from you and smile and say nothing for at least a few minutes. He could reduce you practically to tears without saying a word! By the time I was at Emory, he was no longer chair of the residency program, but he still held a commanding presence in the administrative office. I will never forget his penetrating gaze, or the valuable lesson it teaches. I still admire his self-control, at being able to stare anyone down for as long as they could manage to remain silent.