The Best Seat in the House

Let's say you're ready to take a seat in a brand-new 10-handed hold'em game in a cardroom in which you've never played before. You know nothing about your opponents and they know nothing about you. You can choose any seat; which one do you pick? I've heard people choose certain seats for all sorts of reasons:

"I prefer seat five or six. That way, I can see the flop clearly. If I'm sitting at the end of the table, sometimes I misread the cards."

To those people I say, you need a new pair of glasses. I'm serious. If you can't see the flop from every seat at the table, I don't want you driving to the cardroom on the same roads that I use. The bottom line is, seats five and six are not the best seats.

"I always sit in seat nine. That's my lucky seat. I hit a bad-beat jackpot once in seat nine."

I'm happy for you that you hit the jackpot. Really, I am. I've never hit one myself. But if you think the seat had something to do with it, you might as well take some of your jackpot money, buy the chair, and take it home with you. Sitting there is not going to help you hit it again, and it won't help your daily results.

"I like seats three and eight. That way, I'm at an angle where I can see everyone at the table. I want to be able to see all of my opponents."

That's a more valid reason to choose a seat, but there's a flaw in that logic. Sure, you can see all of your opponents, but that means they can see you, too. Your advantage is somewhat nullified. There's a better choice.

I'll give you a hint. In my upcoming book, I devote several pages to the importance of looking to your left before acting on your hand. You want any information you can get about what your opponents plan to do when the action gets to them. If they appear ready to fold, you have the green light to bluff. If they appear to be interested in playing, you should stay out unless you have the goods. It's probably one of the most important, yet least discussed, ways to drastically improve your game and your results.

So, with that in mind, where would I choose to sit? As far as I'm concerned, there's only one correct answer.

Sure, I always look to my left before acting on my hand, but I don't want to make it obvious! If I'm sitting in seat four, for example, I have to noticeably crane my head to the left in order to see my opponents. The same goes with lots of other seats. But in seat one, the opponents to my left are practically in front of me. I can essentially look straight ahead and see the players in seats two through five. I can often get an idea of the action they plan to take without their realizing that I'm doing it.

There's another advantage to sitting in seat one. I can get a clear look at the opponents to my left, but those to my right can't get a clear look at me! It's the best of both worlds, because as much as I try to avoid it, I'm sure that I sometimes telegraph my intentions without meaning to do so. Maybe my hand moves toward my chips when I'm ready to raise, or it moves toward my cards if I'm folding. Sitting in seat one allows me to get away with it. The player in seat 10 definitely can't see me, since the dealer is in the way. Seat nine has to make an extra effort to get a look at me, especially if the dealer has some extra pounds, or if he keeps his hands far out in front of him when he deals. Both of these players are at a disadvantage. So, since most of us unintentionally give some clues as to whether or not we plan on raising or folding, we might as well situate ourselves where it won't hurt us.

The same reasons that make seat one your best seat also make seat 10 your worst. The players to your right have a clear look at you, and if you are giving off tells, they will be able to spot them. On the other hand, you have no view of seats one and two, unless you lean forward in an obvious manner and peer around the dealer. If they are giving off tells, you won't be able to take advantage of them. It's the worst of both worlds. Oh, by the way, have you ever sat down in seat 10 and hit your knee on the drop box? It smarts! Seriously, stay out of seat 10 if you can help it. Over the long run, it's going to cost you, big-time.

And if the drop box is under seat one, put on some kneepads and sit down. It's too valuable an advantage to pass up.

In the months before I joined Card Player, I wasn't sure if I would return to writing about poker. I spent almost a year without doing an article, until I saw that cardplayer.com was launching its Online Poker News, and that Andy Glazer would be its editor. That's when I knew it was time to return. I wanted to become a better writer, and if I was serious about improving my skills, I needed to work under his supervision. And when I first talked to him, he was brutally honest with me, which is exactly what I needed.

"I won't lie to you," he said. "I sense that you are a bright person, but your writing needs a lot of work."

"That," I said, "is exactly why I am coming to you."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked. "A lot of people get insulted when their writing gets torn apart. As long as you view my editing as help, I'll promise to give it my best effort."

Andy kept his promise. Even though he was probably one of the busiest people in the poker world, he spent a great deal of time working with me and editing my writing. He made dozens of corrections on all of my articles, and they were always right on the money. Moreover, he made sure I knew why he was making the changes he made. I'd like to think that my writing skills have improved in the past couple of years, and if they have, I owe a large part of that to Andy. He was the best pure writer the poker world has known.

The last time I saw him was at the Australasian Poker Championships in Melbourne back in January. I'm fairly certain it was the best run of tournament success he ever had. He won both the pot-limit hold'em event and the seven-card stud event, and was arguably the best all-around player for the two-week championship. In his poker writing career, he spent a lot of time covering other people's tournament successes, but in this tournament, we got to witness his personal success, and that was very satisfying. They say that nice guys finish last, but this time, the nicest guy finished first. It was a pleasure to see.

He was the ultimate rarity in the poker world: a great poker player, a phenomenal writer, and a fantastic person, all in one. He will be missed tremendously.

Matt can be found playing online at www.royalvegaspoker.com, where he is a member of its team of experts. You can also find other articles of his in the Online Poker News, which is at www.cardplayer.com.