The Importance of Seating Assignments - A new table/seat redraw system

One of the most important factors in determining your fate in a tournament is something that is rarely discussed – the seating assignment. Whether it's a one-day, two-day, or multiple-day event you play in, where you sit and with whom you sit is usually essential to your success. "Drawing" your seat assignment could be the key to victory.

Starting out at a good table (one where you might not recognize anybody, as opposed to seeing nothing but World Poker Tour champions, and one where you have an opportunity to gather chips) is what everyone hopes for. Here are some other important factors: your redraw and opponents each day in multiple-day events, your redraw and opponents when it gets down to three and two tables, as well as the chip counts at your table. Of course, who has the chips and where they're sitting always makes a difference. (The consensus among players is to have loose players on their right and tight players on their left.)

Most big tournaments use computers to draw for seats. This speeds up registration and helps get the tournament started on time. Sometimes, however, it won't be a totally random draw. For example, a tournament director may set up for only 200 players, and when more than 200 show up, the next 10 in line are at the 21st table, the next 10 at the 22nd table, and so on. (Here's a word to the wise for big events: Sign up early to make sure you get mixed in with satellite winners. Waiting to register just before the tournament begins will often result in your sitting with all "buy-in" people, which usually means a tougher table.)


I love people who are willing to take some chances in an effort to "improve the system." One of those people is Tournament Director Jimmy Sommerfield. At the World Poker Tour event in Renoearlier this year, Jimmy implemented a new seating-assignment system that to his amazement received no resistance from the players. Perhaps it's one that more TDs should try.


When play was halted at the World Poker Challenge after day one with 36 players left, Jimmy wanted to balance the four remaining tables in terms of chip count. This would provide for each table having basically the same amount of chips on it. To do this, Jimmy couldn't have a random draw (the normal procedure), as the chip leaders could land at the same table.


In Jimmy's redraw system, the table and seats are predetermined by the amount of chips that each player has. This balances the tables in terms of chip count and prevents the chip leaders from clashing early on in day two. (Some would say it rewards them for their play on day one. Is that such a bad thing?) Critics might say that Jimmy's system is not random, but they should recognize that the players who fill each spot are unknown.


See the chart in the next column for how the redraw would work with four tables remaining.


If you add up the numbers, you will see that in this example, all four tables have $555,000 in chips on them. You can also see that this formula will work well for balancing any number of tables.


Hats off to Jimmy Sommerfield and the people in Reno for trying something different to help improve tournament poker.


Take care.


Mike Sexton is the host of PartyPoker.com, a commentator on the World Poker Tour (which can be seen every Wednesday on the Travel Channel), and the author of Shuffle Up and Deal (which is on The New York Times best-seller list and is available at www.CardPlayer.com)