money moves in a clockwise direction. Big stacks are always preferable on your right. I dont like shortstacks anywhere so I cant comment on that.
I join table and play a few orbits. It can become VERY obvious at low levels if there are fish around. If I dont see any after 5-6 orbits i up and leave. There are plenty of fish on all sites at low levels. Dont get stuck playing with regs there.
The player on your left will have a positional advantage on you. That is to say most of the hands that you play with them you will have to act first postflop.
Deeper stacks increase the value of position. If the guy sitting to your left has a short stack then the positional advantage is diminished greatly. At a certain point (less than 7bb) you have an inherent edge in a blind war with the guy to your left using a strong push/fold strategy.
