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Rivered Poker Article
Table and seat selection
One of the most important yet under-utilised concepts in online poker is table and seat selection, that is spending some time actually choosing which table you are going to sit at and which seat you will sit in instead of simply finding the first available seat and sitting in it.Both cash games and tournament poker, including the GSOP, have become more difficult to win consistently in recent years due to the overall standard of play being much higher due to the fact American players cannot play on most sites, the invention of training sites and the general availability of information about the game.
This means that edges are now smaller than they have every been so it is important to put yourself in the best possible position to win money and that is to surround yourself with players who are weaker than you. There is no point being the sixth best poker player in the entire world if you sit down in a cash game with the top five players in the world as you will still lose money in the long run.
All online poker sites show various statistics in their lobby that you can use to help select a juicy table, one that looks to have loose players in it. The first such statistic is the percentage of players seeing the flop, too low and everyone is playing too tightly but too high and the game becomes a crap shoot. However, choosing one that is slightly higher than the average should yield a good balance. Likewise for the average pot, too low and you will struggle to get any action, too high and you will literally be gambling all the time.
Although most sites take away the ability to choose your own starting seat in a sit 'n' go or multi-table tournament you can still choose your seat in a cash game. Once you have spent some time finding the ideal table you need to ensure the seat you are about to take is also optimal. Do not post your blinds right away, instead watch a couple of orbits of play and see if how those players to your direct left and right play. Are the players on your left aggressive and going to be three-betting you a lot or is the lunatic to your right so you can isolate him frequently. If the seat isn't ideal then simply get up and leave as there are dozens more tables available online. Just remember to take your time in choosing a seat, you might miss you favourite Betfair Casino TV advert whilst you are bust table selecting but it is worth it in the long run, trust me on that front.
