Scenario: The room is forming a new table and you are one of the 7+ players called all at the same time to grab chips and take a seat.

Seat selection is just as, if not more so, important in my mind than table selection. When a new table forms, I am trying to quickly size up who is also sitting down with me, where they are sitting, and which seat I should grab...all within 30 seconds or less. I have sometimes blatantly told the dealer I'm not sure where I feel like sitting yet and other times pretend to be on my phone to see where the first few people sit.

Anyways, it feels like it's a fast game of musical chairs. Does anyone have any pointers or tips that they feel work well when they are part of a new table opening up? And yes, I know you can get the first seat change button if you don't like how it turns out. However, you have the choice of multiple seats which can hugely change your EV for the time being based on where everyone lands.

If you see a known or likely fish, sit to their left, ldo. Otherwise, sit with a couple of OMCs to your left so you get extra buttons. then, get seat change button ASAP, as better seats become more obvious later.

+1 to what Garick says. If someone I know to be good has selected a seat, I try to get position on them. Same goes for anyone buying in for a large stack. Devoid of information at all I choose a seat where I have the best POV for observing everyone else at the table, which for me is the 3 or the 7 seat 9-handed.

Not being able to see half the table drives me nuts, so I try to stay out of the 1 or the 9.

Sit in one of the corner seats. They are the best. Then grab a seat change button.

By good I assume you mean good for the game?

Also have known LAGs to your direct right so that you have position on them 8 out of every 9 hands.

Take seat 7. If the fish sit to your right, keep the seat. If the nits sit to your right then quickly pick a different seat.

Yes.

I always wait that the table is more than half full (3 or 4 available sits) before I choose mine.
Then I focus on one point: having 2 nits at my immediate left. After that I am sure that wherever the fish sits, I will have position on him at least 3 hands/orbits and that's sufficient.
I am also garanteed that I won't be 3-bet light often when I am IP.
Moreover nits usually play a patience game and stay where they are for long so you're confident that your position will be OK for the whole session.
Learnt this technique from T. Angelo in "elements of poker" and I am very happy with it.

I assume "good for the game" = fish? If I have to sit between a good player and a fish I'd opt to have the fish on my left - am I doing it wrong? I reason that I'll still have an edge OOP v the fish, but not the good player.

Take the 3 or 8 seat. Must be nice to play with the same people all the time. I normally have little clue about who's a nit or LAG until people play. Those two seats at a 10 person table gives you the best view of everyone.

Sit to the right of any old people

Sit to the left of any asians

Yes, you are doing it completely wrong. Fish have much higher VPIP than good players, so you will play more pots against them. Furthermore, they are more likely to be calling stations which makes them more difficult to play OOP. Finally, you are going to get most of your value from fish, not good players, making it more important that you have position on the fish to get max value (for instance, if you have AQ and flop comes Q82, good player will fold 89..fish will probably not).

I like it. Very 'to-the-point' process here. Especially when you have only moments to decide sometimes as the whole table fills in quickly. Essentially guaranteeing yourself of not sitting in one of the poorest spots on the table rather than trying to find the most +EV spot from the get-go. I will try this approach in the future.

Thank you.

if you know any of the players, sit directly to the left of any aggressive player, fish or otherwise. If you don't know anyone at all, just sit in seat 1. it's the best seat. As conditions change, you can change seats to get position on where the money is going into the pot.

Sit on the edge because you have the most room obv!

Loose would be a more appropriate word. Most good players should be aggressive, and I'm just fine with them on my left.

exactly. I was thinking of Laggy players. Not tag's.

Thanks for the advice. In my local room there are few really good players at my limit (compared to many bad/average ones) so I've tended to focus on avoiding bad position vs them when it comes to seat selection - it sounds like I need to re-think that.

Sit to the left of the money.

when given the chance especially a new game
i always sit in my lucky seat
(ya fishy i know)