I really appreciate the honesty in saying the answer is not black and white. I was always taught to follow the rings and place them smiley face down as you have described. However, recently I've heard to follow the bark. I'm not sure which is right. I feel that following the rings works well with the exceptional board cupping opposite. These days, most decks are screwed down, and I always tell customers to let me know if it happens, and I can always come back and flip the board.

Im using redwood in California. Do we know how it cups?