Quote: If after ten minutes at the poker table you do not know who the patsy is - you are the patsy

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Sat Jul 9 10:13:15 UTC 2011


Warren Buffett used a version of the saying in the subject line of
this post in a letter he sent to the shareholders of his conglomerate
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The letter was dated February 29, 1988, and it
summarized business activity in 1987. Buffett discussed a metaphorical
figure called "Mr. Market" and indicated that a skilled investor
should have knowledge that is superior to that of "Mr. Market" [BHWB]:

Indeed, if you aren't certain that you understand and can value your
business far better than Mr. Market, you don't belong in the game.  As
they say in poker, "If you've been in the game 30 minutes and you
don't know who the patsy is, you're the patsy."

However, Buffett did not claim that he originated the saying; instead,
he suggested it was an aphorism used by poker players. I have located
four instances of the saying in 1979 and these appear to be the
earliest currently known though I suspect that earlier examples exist.

In 1979 the book "The Aggressive Conservative Investor" used a
statement of the advice as an epigraph for chapter ten where it was
identified as a "Poker Proverb" [ACPP]:

If after ten minutes at the poker table you do not know who the patsy
is - you are the patsy.

POKER PROVERB

More details for interested individuals are given here:
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/07/09/poker-patsy/

If a list member can find an earlier instance of this adage I would be
thankful.   Garson

[BHWB] 1988 February 29, Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. from Chairman of the Board Warren E. Buffett, Topic:
Summarizing 1987. (Accessed at berkshirehathaway.com on 2011 June 3)
link

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/1987.html

[ACPP] 1979, The Aggressive Conservative Investor by Martin J. Whitman
and Martin Shubik, [Freestanding quote at beginning of Chapter 10],
Page 154, Random House, New York. (Verified on paper)

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