One suspects Liam Lawlor is a dab hand at poker, as he's perfected the art of the stony-faced look.
When lawyers discuss his case - the orders against him, his incarceration, matters which might cause another person to squirm with shame - the Dublin West TD simply sits and stares at the judge's bench without a hint of emotion.
When journalists try to question him outside the court, he speaks with a polite but obstinate tone, like someone addressing a Jehovah's Witness on their doorstep.
"No. No comment. Thank you," he mutters.
It's as though he has been coached by Terry Prone in reverse, where rule number one is don't smile; rule two, never look into a camera lens; and, rule three, say as little as possible.
While the strategy might help to keep the media at bay, it has not been without its problems in the High Court.
Twice now, Mr Justice Smyth has sent Mr Lawlor to jail for keeping too much to himself.
A third term beckons pending the outcome of the latest hearing, which was adjourned yesterday amid debate over the status of a previous court order against the TD.
As he awaits a ruling on that matter, he got more bad news last night when details were released of an opinion poll, to be published in today's Star newspaper, on voter preferences in Dublin Mid-West.
This is the new three-seater constituency in which Mr Lawlor may yet run as an independent.
In a survey of 400 people, Mr Lawlor gained just 3 per cent of first-preference votes. Fianna Fáil counsellor Mr John Curran topped the poll with 23 per cent, a share also obtained by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, the leader of the PDs.
Mr Lawlor's most recent electoral outings show he has a mountain to climb.
In the South Dublin County Council elections in June 1999, he received just 611 first-preference votes in the Clondalkin area, which is almost half the number obtained by his then Fianna Fáil running mate, Mr Curran.
In the June 1997 general election, he was voted in with Fine Gael's Mr Austin Currie on the ninth count without reaching the quota in a tight three-way finish, which also involved Labour's Ms Joan Burton.
If - and it's a big if - he does run, he will have to juggle his campaigning work with his now almost daily court appearances, his endless legal consultations, and his cat-and-mouse games with the media.
And as to whether, secretly, he is enjoying it all, behind his stony-face exterior one just can't tell.
