Cash game: Stuck with your seat or not? (1 Viewer)

One or the other but not both. What's the point in drawing for seats if players can just sit wherever they want?

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Don't draw for seats in a cash game. Problem solved.

Maybe. Some people complain just to complain and can never be pleased. They'll just start complaining about something else. Diffusion of Responsibility.

Play better & snivel less.
 
The player always has a way to change seats - Cash out, go home. Maybe next time the player draws an unwelcome seat, we can skip the poker stuff and just go home. It is worse if the host who makes the rules is also profiting from the rule.

Not sure what the point is. I would rather keep the players happy. -=- DrStrange
 
I only randomize seating for tournaments. For cash, it's always first-come first-serve. Chairs stay put so no one can squeeze between players already seated next to one another.

All that said, I could see implementing randomization if there was ever a situation where players were changing seats so frequently it was slowing the game. (Maybe this is what @Rhodeman77 was dealing with) but I have never hosted a game with that need. If I did do that, 1) No seat changes after the draw. 2) I would offer some sort of "intermission" redraw after 90 minutes or so. If players care that much about seating, it's worth offering the players unhappy with a random draw the chance for a different place after some interval, otherwise players may decide to quit quicker than usual.

At the previous game I was running, we had one guy who was very superstitious and would be moving seats all the time, several times in a 2-3 hr session. It was obnoxious. I started making him post a blind if he wanted to move away from the blinds. He could move towards them for free. Cut back on it dramatically.

Enforcing this rule is a must. This player was probably taking advantage of you letting this go to squeeze out a few extra "free hands."
 
Enforcing this rule is a must. This player was probably taking advantage of you letting this go to squeeze out a few extra "free hands."
The word 'probably' is doing a lot of work in that sentence lol, they could just be weird? Doesnt sound like someone beating the high stakes and shaving off blind bets.
 
Enforcing this rule is a must. This player was probably taking advantage of you letting this go to squeeze out a few extra "free hands."

He might have been trying to eke an advantage by paying slightly fewer blinds, but I think not. He is by far the worst player I've ever encountered and was a constant trouble maker. I nearly booted him for other reasons and perhaps should have. If it were my home game he would not have been invited back. But it was a neutral site game where booting would have been far worse punishment than just not getting invited.

I do enforce this rule still, but it simply never comes up. My players just pick their seat and play there the whole night
 
The word 'probably' is doing a lot of work in that sentence lol, they could just be weird? Doesnt sound like someone beating the high stakes and shaving off blind bets.
Well, I am talking about a player, through another player, who I have never met in real life. So I didn't think overly-definitive-I-know-for-sure language was in order. I certainly didn't mean to imply I was assuming said player was a winner, let alone a winner because of this tactic. I would have quite the opposite first impression about someone changing seats for "superstitious" reasons.

He is by far the worst player I've ever encountered and was a constant trouble maker.
Ah, then maybe figuring out this "loophole" was the only "winning" enjoyment he had :).
 
I dig random seating. Understand if that’s your house game rule, but if a seat opens he for sure can change. That’s why they have buttons for seat change request! But he’s going to have to wait until someone leaves or something may want to switch but that’s doubtful.
 
So as host I always sit in the same seat to help run the game, I essentially pick the first seat. The person that shows up to the game first will ALWAYS be able to have position on me every game by taking the seat to my left. Is that fair to me?

With a random draw that person will sometimes have position on me. Sometimes I will have position on that player, and sometimes that player will be 1/2 the table away. Which way seems more fair to everyone involved?
 
So as host I always sit in the same seat to help run the game, I essentially pick the first seat.
Oh I definitely understand having a seat of host privilege. I have my office swivel chair so I can reach to the bank quickly :).

The person that shows up to the game first will ALWAYS be able to have position on me every game by taking the seat to my left. Is that fair to me?
My impression of your game is that you have an advantage regardless of who sits where ;), but this is actually a pretty fair point.

I am still traditional on cash games are FCFS seating, but I am warming to the idea that random draw may not be a horrible affront to tradition. And rulesets I've read permit the use of random draw if there is a dispute over seats, so the door is open a crack already.

I can tell you perceive this as more fair to you, what is the feedback from other players?
 
Ah, then maybe figuring out this "loophole" was the only "winning" enjoyment he had :).

I'm telling you he was bad enough at this game I don't think he really understood why it would be a problem to keep running away from the blinds, let alone get some advantage from doing so. He literally thought every chair he sat in was unlucky. I'm pretty sure I believe him lol.

Probably played 100+ sessions with him, I think I could count on one hand the number of times he cashed positive.
 
I hosted regularly for 12 years and only had one person ask for a specific seat and even then it was because he was borderline legally blind and couldn’t see cards.

People change seats occasionally. Sometimes strategically. A lot of the time because they’re trying to mix it up or they’re losing and superstitious.

Why chase away good people from a game over something as arbitrarily weird as seating at a cash game? Hell, the casino has more flexibility here.

If I want to change seats can I just cash out and leave and turn around and come back and be like “hey it’s a whole new session, helllllllo!” and sit anywhere?
 
Oh I definitely understand having a seat of host privilege. I have my office swivel chair so I can reach to the bank quickly :).


My impression of your game is that you have an advantage regardless of who sits where ;), but this is actually a pretty fair point.

I am still traditional on cash games are FCFS seating, but I am warming to the idea that random draw may not be a horrible affront to tradition. And rulesets I've read permit the use of random draw if there is a dispute over seats, so the door is open a crack already.

I can tell you perceive this as more fair to you, what is the feedback from other players?
Not a single complaint from any of my regular players. New players have made a comment or two but nothing major. I’m not concerned about who sits to my left, I can adjust my game as needed. But when the biggest fish kept having the same couple players try to be to his left I made the decision. Coincidentally one of the players that had been among the biggest winners for a long time before the change has been getting crushed for months in the game now. He was one of the people that made sure to sit next to the biggest fish. He would often 3 bet him to isolate, winning a lot of money from him in the process.
 
Depending upon who's hosting, we either play $1/2 or .25/.50 (and sometimes .50/1). We always draw for seats and stick with the same one all session. IIRC, I think there was only one time where someone asked to switch - he was a few buy ins down so no one denied him. We usually have the same pool of players but there are definitely a couple that I would not prefer to have sitting on my left and I'm sure there are a few guys who wouldn't prefer me on their left as well. After reading this thread, I've been tossing Bama's idea around in my head and will probably suggest to the group re-drawing for seats every 60 or 90 or 120 mins, just to keep things interesting...
 
But when the biggest fish kept having the same couple players try to be to his left

It's this that concerns me sometimes.

Maybe a mix - draw cards to decide order in which seats are chosen; ace gets first pick of seats, deuce second etc.

We pick whatever seat we want in cash and tend to stick to them for the night. I pick for comfort and also like being on the ends of an oval as you get a bit more elbow room.
 
At my home game, when players arrive, they pick their seat, etc etc. Some always sit at the same chair, and are there first so as to not lose it.
My regulars usually sit at the same place every game, and no one has ever asked to change seats. If they want a different one, come early to pick where you want to sit. My table is always full, no empty chairs.
The only thing that changes, is who is the 1st dealer of the night, we draw for that..
 
So do people (regulars, so presumably friends) really lurk in their cars and wait for a weak player to walk in, so they can run in and sit next to the guy?
As that old guy on Cheers once said to Cliff Clavin, that’s pretty weinie!

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I'd say if you draw for seats then people shouldn't be able to change seats.

But in games where people pick seats-first come first served, then they should be able to move whenever they want to to an open seat.
This. My personal opinion is you should draw for tournament seats, but cash game seats are come and go, and switching is fine if there's an open seat.
 
i can relate to this. there's a guy who always sits in position of me. even online, he will wait for me to join the table and take an in position seat. i pretend to not notice. i print $$ even OOP against this fish though lol
 
I'm telling you he was bad enough at this game I don't think he really understood why it would be a problem to keep running away from the blinds, let alone get some advantage from doing so. He literally thought every chair he sat in was unlucky. I'm pretty sure I believe him lol.

Probably played 100+ sessions with him, I think I could count on one hand the number of times he cashed positive.
Please let me know if he ever moves to Houston. I'll make a spot for him in my game. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

As far as any player who is intentionally moving from a spot ahead of the blinds, to a spot where the blinds have just passed - easy solution to that. He has the option of posting both big and small blinds, or he waits to play until the big blind reaches him. Just like any new player would who just joined the game.
 
Please let me know if he ever moves to Houston. I'll make a spot for him in my game. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

He's your's lol. Not even worth the dead money.

As far as any player who is intentionally moving from a spot ahead of the blinds, to a spot where the blinds have just passed - easy solution to that. He has the option of posting both big and small blinds, or he waits to play until the big blind reaches him. Just like any new player would who just joined the game.

Which is what I ended up doing.
 
If I am hosting a bigger cash game, say 2 tables we will set a time to shuffle seats and table makeup. This generally keeps everyone happy. However, with multiple tables you need to be aware of how much money is at each table so you do not short one.
 
Agreed. It could even be in 'dog shit' colors and still be cooler than, well, you know...
 

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