Seat selection, why I prefer seat one

Seat selection is often overlooked as a strategical decision. When I play poker I always try to get into seat number one. It provides strategic advantages and it is the most comfortable seat.

Strategic decisions go beyond the cards

You have to make a ton of decisions correctly in order to end up with a winning poker session. Many of those decisions are made even before you see the first cards. For instance: Are your bankroll and physical- and mental-state healthy enough to be playing at all? What game and stakes should you play? Of the tables available, which has the most profitable-looking game?

One such decision tends to get overlooked in terms of strategic importance — where you sit. Of course, it is often the case that you don’t have a choice with that decision. If you play in a tournament you have no choice at all. When you want to enter a cash game you don't have much choice either. One seat opens up, your name is called, and you take it. But you don’t have to stay there. Ask for a seat-change button as soon as you sit down. That way you have the right of first choice the next time another seat becomes available. 

Why seat selection is important

Strategic considerations will frequently dictate a subsequent move. Most classically, you may want to sit to the immediate left of the table maniac, the player who is pushing the action, so you have a positional advantage over him as often as possible.

For now, let’s assume that the players are all roughly similar so the players are not a factor. Where should you try to sit, if you are given free choice?

Sometimes this decision relates to comfort. If you have restricted vision of any kind, you may want to sit directly opposite of the dealer, to have the closest view of the cards on the table. On the other hand, the seats on the round edges of the table have more elbow and foot room, which is also nice to have.

Why I prefer the comfort of seat number one or ten

In terms of being comfortable I have a strong preference for the two seats directly on either side of the dealer, seat one and ten. There are lots of reasons for why I have this preference:

• No other seats have as much elbow and leg room as these two.
• I am usually familiar with the dealers and proximity makes it easier to chat quietly with them.
• If you are sitting next to the dealer, you have just one other player, instead of two players, who is sitting next to you.  This cut in half your chance of being stuck next to somebody who is obnoxious, smelly, chatty, loud, or invasive of your personal space. 
• In these seats it is also less likely another player can accidentally see your cards if you open them up a little bit too much.
• You never have to stretch to push your chips to where the dealer can reach them, nor toss your cards to get them back to the dealer.
• Even pokerdealers make mistakes sometimes. If you are sitting next to them you can easily see how much rake they take out of the pot and correct them if they take too much.
• Poker rooms tend to position tables so all of the dealers are facing the main desk. If you are next to the dealer, you’re facing that way too and can keep an eye on what’s happening, who’s coming and going, and anything else of interest, for example the cocktail waitresses.

Strategic advantages of seat one, see without being seen

I started this article talking about strategic decisions, not comfort. For strategic advantage, I think seat one is also the best. 

It’s always advantageous to know in advance what the player to your left is going to do. For example, when it is folded to you on the button and you knew one of the blinds had a big hand, you would change your mind about trying to steal the blinds with a raise when you are holding a garbage hand. Or when you sit one seat before the button, if you could know before taking your turn that the button was going to fold, it would be like having the button yourself for the second time in a row — a powerful advantage.

Many players telegraph what they’re going to do before it’s their turn, especially when it comes to pre flop decisions. If they’re going to fold, they have their cards in hand with there wrist turned inwards, ready to throw there cards into the muck. If they’re going to stay in, they’ll protect their cards with there hands. If they’re going to raise, they’ll be counting out chips or look at their chip stack. Even if you can’t get a read on a specific action, watching the player to your left as he peeks at his hole cards may give you some general indication of whether he likes or dislikes his cards.

All such observations are most easily made from seat one because the curve of the table puts the player in seat two into your field of view without having to turn your neck in a gesture so obvious that he’ll notice that you’re observing him. If he knows he’s being watched, he may become self-conscious, and stop giving away his actions in advance.

The chair two to the right of the dealer (either seat eight or seat nine, depending on whether the table is nine-handed or ten-handed), has a similar advantage point on the seat to its left. But seat one still takes the strategic edge, because while you want to see, you don’t want to be seen. 

In case you’re leaking tells of your own, you don’t want the player to your right to be able to pick up on them. With the dealer on your right, it is difficult for the player to the dealer’s right to be watching you because the dealer is blocking his view.

To sum things up, if you have no strong strategic reason to do otherwise, I suggest trying to get yourself into seat one, for strategic advantages and for maximum comfort.

Please let me know what you think about seat one and your favourite seat in the comments below.