Temperature is the trick with a brisket .I like a smoker than can easily maintain a consistent temp without spikes in temps! It all comes down to what your smoker is capable of imo.I don't have anything fancy just a home made smoker but it does pretty good ! And man sometimes you just may get a bad brisket.No such thing as a bad brisket or ribeye right ? Lol it does happen .I have only a couple places I buy select cuts from and one place is 30 miles one way .More expensive but it's worth the drive! I will go ahead and pay extra for a quality cut such as a brisket or steak .