Great seat or great table.

[Ineedaride2]

I guess I'm just starting to REALLY understand the importance of seat selection, although I've been hearing about it for months. However, it's frustrating to get a good TABLE for a casual player, much less a good seat at a good table.

So in the grand scheme of things, is a bad seat at a really good table much worse than a great seat at a decent table?

Plenty of times, I'm able to get on a great table, only to find myself to the left of the only 24/15/2.5 guy there. If the table's good, can I let seat selection slide (considering party doesn't let you change seats without risking getting booted from the table)?

Would I be better off at a table full of rocks with one 62/20/1.5 to my right?


Should I just stop being a table nit and do the best that I can?

[RunDownHouse]

Don't stop being a nit. Be a bigger nit. If you're sitting to my left and the big fish is to your left, you've got an awful, awful seat, no matter how good the table is. If you're sitting to my left and the fish is to my right, you're a little better since you can iso when I fold. But I'll be raising pretty light, and you can't just come over the top with a hand like Q9s that you might otherwise be able to play.

Anyways, I'm sure you know all that but in the end, I think seat selection is just as important as table. Obviously if the rest of the table really sucks, you won't be too badly off sitting to the left of a TAG, since they're only going to be playing 25% of their hands or whatever. But that's the only mitigating factor.

[kidcolin]

If the table is awesome, I'll sit to the left of a TAG any day, as long as to HIS right there are a couple of mega-fishies. The TAG, by definition, isn't playing a ton of hands. He has a slight advantage over you, but he's not always going to get an isol-hand when you do (i.e. when you hold something like KJo or KTs). It'll happen occasionally, but it won't cut into your profits enough to leave this juicy table.

Plus, sometimes it's fun 3-betting TAGs who are playing the isol game.

That being said, I have no problem sitting in a TAG circle jerk if I get the seat next to the +60 VPIP guy. In fact, last night I found one of my fave 80 VPIP guys starring in a TAG bukkake party, and directly to his left was open. I took and watched TAGs fold a lot while I reaped the benefits.

[___]

It really depends, which is not the answer you're looking for. If the fish are that atrocious and the TAG isn't too good (plenty aren't), then you can stay even if the TAG is to your right. I've made plenty of money at tables with two ridiculous donators even though I had to sit with a TAG between us to my right. Then again, I've also been forced out of a juicy table when a TAG with an understanding of how to isolate and play well against other TAGs sits in.

I would never complain about sitting at a table of rocks with one 62/20/1.5 to your right. I think in this situation you can give less weight to the skill of the TAGs you are sitting with in choosing your table since you have the best seat.

If you had both seats open to you and no reads, I recommend sitting to the right of the fish at the rocky table. You will be able to steal some blinds as well as isolate more effectively. Any sort of read might tip me to taking the bad seat at the ripe table though. If the TAG at the better table is short stacked, bad, or you have a read on their style then this can mitigate the advantage they have in isolating.

As the stakes get higher and I can assume that the average skill level of players increases, I am more apt to sit at the table with more fish. In a very aggressive game with observant players you are less likely to get away with bullying and isolation.