If you knew for a candid fact that there were two professionals or very good players on the table then the last place that you would want them to be is on your left. Not only are they top players but they are top players that have position on you and KNOW how to exploit it as well. You want that edge negated so this means that you want these players on your right where their playing power is blunted to you.
If you could pick and choose then you would want weak and tight players on your left. Just the type of player that could not make the most of their positional advantage. Some seats can be so bad in a poker game that the best course of action could be to get up and go and find another game. In an ideal world of course you would like dummies in every seat on your table but life is not like that.
You cannot take a walk just because you have notes on a couple of players on your table and they happen to be good. As you move up through the limits providing that you do that is, then you will encounter games with players who know what time of day it is. It is important that you are aware of who they are and also where they are sat. Your earn rate in poker is dependent on many things but seat placement is a little understood concept and few players take it on board at all.
Yet having a couple of strong players to your left could be all it takes to turn what may have been an otherwise profitable game into one that is only break even. You see, there are different types of position in poker but the overwhelming number of amateur players who understand position only understand it by means of their position in a particular hand. Not many would be aware enough to get up and leave a game all because of who was sitting on their left. This factor is not as important in a game like Limit Hold’em but in No Limit then it can make the difference between winning and losing. When you know that a very good player will be entering the pot after you with the skill to play very well from the flop onwards then you will need to change your strategy somewhat because much of what I have been teaching you will be blunted because the good player will know that you will have position to do something about it.