Table selection

I decided i'd do a post about table selection. Something i have never been very active in in the past, which has always been a 'leak' in my game.
Good table selection is very important for your winrate and becomes increasingly so as you start to play higher levels.
An old saying in poker is: What if you're the 6th best player in the world? great right? But what if you're at the table with the top 5 in the world? All of a sudden you won't fancy the table any more i'd reckon.

What it comes down to, is that with good table selection you greatly enlarge your chance on winning money when playing poker. Sometimes this means you will have to pass on a table as it comes up, just because it ain't soft enough. Wait for a better table where you'll have more chance of winning money. Well, how do i destinguish between a good and a bad table to be at? It's even possible to find a great table, but with the seat you're at it's NOT! Here are some things to look at when trying to find a good table:

1: The percentage of players who see the flop. This is a good indication of the general looseness of the table. The looser the table, the weaker the average hand is you're up against. So high % is good( > 35%) low % is bad. (the lower the % the more you're be able to steal)
2: The average size of the pot. Too many nits at a table and your EV isn't very good. Sure you'll be able to steal a lot of pots from them.
3: short stacks. Short stacks hurt your win-rate. Sure they're usually very bad players, but assuming you are a good player you want to have people with big stacks making mistakes for their entire stack against you. There's no room to outplay a shorty, just push or fold for them.
3: Acknowledged weak players in the game: This is why you should be making good notes when you play! there's nothing better than a maniac or huge donk at your table.(remember to isolate them)
4: limpers: The more limpers, the more passive the game is. Passive games are good partially because you can try and draw cheaply as you can charge them for their draws. Basically you control the action. That's always a good situation to be in!
5: position. You'll want to have position (have them to your right) on loose/aggressive players and have short and/or tight players on your left.

So when your at a table:

Signs you're at a good table:
* Multiple players limping in
* Position on a loose and aggressive player
* Players calling raises after trying to limp with weak hands
* Players showing weak hands outside of the blinds (Ace-little offsuit, unsuited connectors, etc.)
* Outragous raises on top quality hands (so I know when to fold.)
* Players limping or only raising to $1 with top quality hands
* You see a friendly donator at your table.

It's probably time to find another table when:
* 1 or fewer players limp a couple times in a series of 8-10 hands. Getting down to just the blinds is a very bad sign.
* Maniac with position on me by 1 or 2 seats. Dealing with his (re)raises can be trying and the check + call counter to that is a pain. Also, I'm less likely to be the last to act when I'm in late position, but don't have the button.
* I can't pick out the weak players at the table
* Many of the weak players go all-in on a single hand suicide pact, then several leave.
* Multiple strong/tight players. Particularly filling seats left by weak players.
* No one is calling my pre-flop raises with weak hands. If I can regularly take the blinds with a $2 pre-flop raise, I'm probably at the wrong table.
* I have position on the short stacks.

Always keep re-evaluating! A good table can turn into a bad table in an instant! Just find yourself another table where you're more likely to make money. It's not a bad idea to keep scouting for good tables while you're playing.

Good luck on finding those gold mines!