Pie rule in Kulami?

[AzkaS]

I've played Kulami many times and it seems like the first player advantage is quite significant in this game. Would it work better with the pie rule? I mean that the first player would place the first marble and the second player would have an option to choose whether to play second, or swich seats. This would certainly prevent the first player from making the strongest possible move and the game may be more balanced.