Getting A Good View in Poker

If you've identified more than one good seat or can't identify one, one way to break the ties is to pick a seat at the end of the table. Either the number 2, 3, 7, or 8 seats at a ten-handed table are the seats on the end of the table which allow you to watch everyone for tells, all at the same time. If you are in the middle and decide to watch the players on your left, then Murphy's Law dictates that the tell you needed to see will be on your right, or vice versa.

View of the Table When you first sit down at the table, you won't often have a choice of seats, usually only one seat will be available, that is, the one you're going to take. When you do have a choice, there are some clues that you can use to help pick a seat.

A loose player often just looks loose. He sits or sprawls loosely in his chair. His chips are haphazardly spread in front of him or stacked unevenly. Similarly a tight player just looks tight. He sits upright, firmly in the chair. His chips are neatly stacked by denomination, probably arranged in a triangle formation. Passive or aggressive players aren't as easy to identify, but they sometimes give off some clues also. Passive players can sometimes be identified by a blank look on their face. They tend to not appear to be alert. Aggressive players sometimes tend to look not just alert, but hyper-alert. The characteristics of a maniac are twitching eyes, continuously scanning the table or even the room, and fidgeting hands.

When you have a choice of where to sit, the first step is to quickly scan the table, trying to identify player types. This initial identification won't always be right, but you'll make accurate assessments often enough to make the few seconds it takes well worth the time. An ideal initial seat selection would be to sit as close to the right of the loosest looking, most aggressive looking player at the table as possible. Another good choice would be to sit to the right of the tightest, most passive looking player at the table. You will want to make sure the table has players who are easy to beat, that is, weak players, and does not have many players who are difficult to beat, that is, strong players.

Seat Value and Table Conditions The relative importance of the various factors involved in selecting a seat can change as the table conditions change. For example, the effect of a maniac sitting in a tight, passive game is very different from the effect of the same player taking a seat at a table that's already very loose and aggressive. As you're playing, try to identify seats that you think might be better seats than the one you have. When a player in a seat that you think you'd like to move to looks like he's getting ready to move, don't hesitate to speak up and announce that you want that seat. There are no rules for who gets first claim on an empty seat, it's first come, first served.

When you do move seats, there is sometimes a penalty of having to post an extra blind. It depends on where you've moved to in relationship to your current seat and current position of the blinds. But don't let this influence your decision. Having to post an extra blind is a trivial expense compared with the value of a good seat.