Any tips or tricks?

Trim very aggresively, 1/4 inch or less. Don't slather oil on it before you season like some recommend, smoke won't penetrate. Start off fat side down, smoke at least 4 hours before wrapping, if you wrap, no wrap=better bark but may dry out a lesser brisket. If you wrap use single layer butcher paper, not foil.

Salt and pepper only. Oak wood. Like Tres said, get it trimmed right. Dont go crazy with the fat cap, just make sure you have about 1/4" over the flat and 1/4" or less over the point. Have the fatty end facing the hotter part of your pit. I always have an awesome bark on my PP and brisket. I never put oil on my brisket but I do put a little on my pork butts before seasoning.

Lightly trim, like others said make sure to keep plenty on the flat, I really just try to remove large chunks if they are present.

I season with kosher salt and something between fine ground and course black pepper, not sure what grind it is.

I have always cooked fat side up and point towards the heat source. If cooking over direct heat then fat side down. The real trick is temperature control, 225-250 is what I shoot for, but it never fails I'm always doing something else and I usually will get a little too hot.

Temp control is definitely the trick. I built a PID controller for my big pit for about 75 bucks. It helps a ton. Wired to two powerful computer fans that are mounted to the sides of my firebox and a temp probe goes in the cooking chamber. I got the settings dialed in right and now it'll hold within about 3 degrees of my set temp. All I have to do is add a split every 2 hrs and it does the rest for me.

Also, check out the Aaron Franklin brisket video on YouTube. He shows you how to properly trim a brisket and he obviously knows his stuff. I watch his videos and use his recipes with fantastic results.

I brush the brisket with chipotle puree and add my rib made from dark brown sugar and coarse SPG. Keep the smoker under 200. I use pecan or hickory and finish with mesquite.

Someone got on here and wrote that the smoke ring was overrated and not necessary for a good brisket.

That's true I believe, but the smoke ring is very nice to see on a slice.

This one was really good and did not have much of a smoke ring.

put it in the smoker cold right out of the fridge.

Trum well for the bark. Enhance smoke ring by using green wood for smoking and or using a meat tenderiser as well

The pros use something to enhance the smoke ring. Can't recall.

This too, cold meat will take on more smoke. Brining will also enhance the smoke ring. Not sure about the green wood but I would never smoke anything with it.

What is trum well? I googled it and it came up Trump wall

Ask BP

I think it might be phosphate that some of the competition guys use for the crazy smoke ring.

There I nothing wrong with using freshly cut green wood. Actually, JR Oyler, the manufacturer of one of the most iconic wood burning rotisserie pits ever made suggests you only use recently cut green wood in their pit instead of dried seasoned wood. Also, I think Aaron Franklin of Franklins BBQ prefers to use unseasoned green wood, but I'm not certain on that.

I will give some of these try next time I burn some meat

the competition guys on bbq pitmasters are always using fresh cut fruit wood. I like using oak for longer smokes, green(ish) mesquite to finish

I've found that fresh cut is good for grilling but I think it is too "smoky" for smoker cooking. It just seems a little bitter to me. And it seems more so on the second go around, like when pulling leftovers out of the fridge.

a lot of your smoke ring will have to do with the type of wood your using. Different types throw a different color and size smoke ring.

Sodium nitrite is what people sprinkle on the meat to give it a 'smoke ring'. There are lots of variables that go into many of which are already listed. Here is a link to some good reading on smoke rings.

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_the_smoke_ring.html

I followed the above videos and ended up with a nice smoke ring on my last brisket. Smoked about 8 hrs before wrapping.

You absolutely cant go wrong with advice from Franklin. Those videos are great.

Franklin uses highly seasoned wood, post oak, stuff lights like a match.