Seating: One Of The Easiest Paths To Poker Profit
By Mike Caro

Sometimes we get so involved in thinking about deeper and deeper poker strategy that we forget to refresh our memories about some of the most powerful, basic, and profitable concepts. A few days ago, I recorded an audio lesson for Poker Pages' online school (www.pokerschoolonline.com). It reminded me that I've been neglecting many of the most important topics that we began to discuss many years ago.

One of those topics is poker seating. I believe the concept is so important that almost any skillful player who is neglecting this aspect of poker can expect to see profits increase by at least half by faithfully acting on this powerful poker truth. Here's the script for my audio lecture…

I teach that choosing the right seat in a poker game is one of the most important factors in increasing your profit. I'm right.

You see, there's no such thing as a lucky seat in poker. Luck is always apparent after the fact, looking in the rear-view mirror. But there's no rational reason to suspect, in advance, whether you'll be lucky or unlucky. It's all random. And that applies to poker seats as well as to poker people.

Looking back, there are hot seats and cold seats; lucky seats and unlucky ones. But before that good luck or bad luck happened, there was no logical reason to suspect that it would. The lucky seat could have turned out unlucky and the unlucky seat could have turned out lucky.

Superstition

So, when I talk about choosing the right seat, forget about finding a lucky seat. That's just superstition. And I don't allow my students to practice superstition at the poker table.

Well, if there's no way to determine which seat is lucky, why bother thinking about selecting or changing seats at all? A seat is a seat, right?

No, I didn't say that. I said you can't determine lucky seats, but you can determine winning seats. You can determine profitable seats.

Here's the deal. In poker the action happens clockwise, coming from your right, moving to you, and continuing to your left. Visualize the action. Here it comes from your right. Now it's your turn. Now the action passes to your left. That's poker.

And, you know what? When you get to act after someone else, you have an advantage. We call this a positional advantage. It means you get to see what another player decides to do first and then you act. It's always to your advantage when your opponent acts before you do; it's always to your disadvantage when you act before your opponent does.

That's important and I'll repeat it. You always have an advantage when your opponent acts first; you always have a disadvantage when you act first. This concept is so powerful that if you could put a weather satellite up in space and point its camera down on a poker table, you'd see the money mostly flowing 'round and 'round the table in a clockwise direction.

OK, so far, that's not a big revelation and just knowing it isn't helpful. So, let's make it helpful. At first, you might think that a seat doesn't matter, because positional advantage evens out. After all, for every player who sits nearby to your right - giving you a positional advantage -- there's a player who sits nearby to your left - taking advantage of you. True, so very true.

Which opponents belong where

But here's the trick. There are certain types of players you can profit from more than others by using your positional advantage. And those players belong on your right. And there are certain players who harm you less than others, because they don't make the most of their positional advantage. And those players belong on your left.

Now, there's a lot more to seating in poker than that, and I could write a huge book about just the nuances of attacking blinds, getting walks when you're in the blind, sandbagging, and much, much more. And it all fine-tunes our strategy for knowing what seats are best and how to get the most out of the seat you're in relative to the types of opponents sitting nearby. But we'll save that for another day and talk about the most profitable seating consideration right now. This is where the gold is buried.

Your main consideration should be to place the loosest and weakest players on your right, because those are the ones who supply the most profit. Many players are always eager to call a single bet, but they think twice about calling a raise. These are typical loose players who lose the most money in poker games. And you'll get the biggest share of their losses if you sit immediately to their left (so they're on your right), thus maximizing your positional advantage.

Why it works

Let's look at a ludicrously simple example to illustrate this point. Someone has made the first bet. You've got a good hand and are playing an aggressive style, which means you raise frequently to earn extra profit. Suppose your loosest opponent is on your left, holding a weak hand, and acts after you. You raise. Now your loose opponent thinks, "Well, I would have called just to see if I could get lucky, but now I'm going to fold, because even I'm not stupid enough to call a raise." So, assuming you're going to win this pot, how many bets did you just gain from this loose opponent? None, right. He folded. But now suppose he's on your right and you act after him. He calls, because it's just a single bet and that's the kind of guy he is. Now you raise. It gets back to him and he thinks, "Wow. I shouldn't have played this garbage, but it's just one more bet to me now." So, he calls. Now, how many bets has he put in your pot? Two. And that magic happens only because he was sitting on your right and not on your left.

The one other seating consideration we're going to learn today is that tight, unaggressive players belong on your left. They'll still have a positional advantage against you, but they won't profit from it very often, because they don't play many pots. They simply won't interfere with your strategy as often as other players, so you can afford to have them on your left.

So, today we've learned two important keys about seating in poker. You want the loosest opponents on your right and the tightest ones on your left. Of course, you won't always be able to select or change seats, but you should keep this advice in mind and use it whenever you can. Again. Loose players belong on your right. Tight players belong on your left.
 

Mike Caro is known professionally as "America's Mad Genius," "Gambling's Mad Genius," or "The Mad Genius of Poker." He teaches that in order to overcome any odds against you, your decisions must really matter.
Mike was also a teacher and at PokerSchoolOnline so for more detailed articles join www.pokerschoolonline.com

Poker Counselor - I Know What You Have!
By John Carlisle
 

Catching a read on an opponent is simply an amazing feeling. In a recent No Limit Hold 'Em tournament, I was seated near two players who oozed tells and had very predictable betting patterns. I was desperate to get into any pot against them that I could, knowing that I could use the information to quickly capture their chip stack. From the big blind, I called a moderate raise from predictable player "A." Even though my staring hand was nothing but two rags, I was confident that I could out-play him to win the pot no matter the ugliness of the cards I held. As the first to act, I bet-out after the flop as I focused on his reaction. He sat back in his chair in contemplation. He took another peek at his hole cards before slowly wiping his hand across his forehead. He strained with thoughts, and his eyes inadvertently darted back towards the two Hearts that hit the flop. Without hesitation, I was absolutely certain that he was pondering what to do with his flush draw. "I call," he muttered as he tossed a few of his chips toward the dealer. With his demeanor as he called the raise, I was even more certain that my read was 100% accurate.

Since I "knew" what he held in his hand, positive emotions began to run rampant beneath the surface. Having an accurate read on your opposition produces an unrivaled feeling of power. I was experiencing that rush, as I felt strong and confident. It was as if I couldn't lose. Before the next card was dealt, my mind already began to race with my next move. Even though I had no pair, no draws, and was out-of-position, I was actually trying to figure how to maximize the pot for my bluff and inevitable win!

I focused on my opponent's eyes as the turn was dealt, and I knew it was a Heart before even glancing at the felt. The sight of the card had caused player "A" to take a deep breath inward, and his eyes showed an odd sparkle as he glanced at his chips to consider his raise. I looked to the flop to confirm my suspicion and indeed saw the 2 of hearts had hit the board. When he raised after my check, my emotions had already been brought down. That feeling of superiority and power that I held before the turn was instantly replaced with disappointment and disbelief.

At this point, it is easy to assume that all players in my position would quickly throw away their hand. Knowing that your opponent holds a made flush (and you have nothing), it seems like an easy fold. In reality, it is often not very easy for many players to drop this hand. You see, the feeling of psychological power that comes with knowing your opponent's cards is infectious and can negatively affect your play! The mind begins to over-think as you attempt to scheme a possible way to win the hand. "If the board pairs-up, I can represent a full house," might pop into the brain. Basically, the mind is racing to find a way to justify staying in the hand. There is a strong motivation to stay in because you know what they have! Because that information is so precious and exciting, many players must make a conscious effort to concede the pot.

When you know what another player is holding due to a strong read, use the information wisely. If you know there is no way to move him off of the hand, get out of the way and fold. You have to believe that if you caught a solid read once against this player, you can probably do so on the next deal. Never allow the magnetism of knowing pull you into a costly situation, as your emotions may help produce a foolish bluff when you know you are sorely beaten. Play smart, not emotionally. Now go make it happen.
 

John Carlisle is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) with advanced degrees in Psychology and Counseling. He writes on the psychological aspects of the game.

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