That shot is of a select packer, the front left slices are point, the back slices are flat. I was pretty pleased with the overall cook, I felt the flat could have run a little longer in the heat.
Thanks for the compliment. I have had a pretty good run of late. I really think looking at the meat you are buying is the best place to start. If you must buy a flat, really look for a fat cap, look for a size around 5 pounds minimum, and you want a flat with some thickness. Any flat less than 2" thick is going to be hard to cook up right. The more consistent the flat thickness is, edge to edge, the easier the cook will go. I will not buy flats less than Choice grade, unless there is marbling telling me otherwise.
One thing to remember about grading too, meat is not graded after cutting, the carcass is given a grade after it is hung. From there, all cuts carry that grading, regardless of which cut, or how much marbling there is. This means, you can find a great packer brisket off of a Select grade animal and vice versa.