Home game time

Its time for our weekly home game again, a game in which i have not won in over 4 months, why? i don't know, i play well online, i tend to be more aggressive in tourneys, but for some reason i shell up and become the passive cash cow at the home games, it is not an intimidated thing, i am not scared of conflict or fighting, so i am not becoming passive coz i have a weak nature, i have a better understanding of poker, i know more theories and maths than everyone bar 1 person at the home game. the game is tourney, small $10 buy in, 10,000 stack 20 minute levels starting at 25/50

the usual suspect consist of
Linc = MANIAC
James = LAG
Michael = TAG but very weak
Damien = Loose Passive pre flop but Agg on flop and Passive turn river (very strange player)
Keith = TAG the guy who knows more than me
Jason = me TAG usually but lately see above
Tim = Loose Passive
Christine = Tight Passive
Erin = TAG
Brendan = Tight Passive

seems like a pretty standard table, but i just cant crack it, i do get the official "worst luck" out of us all, but i just put that down to entering all ins with best hand majority of the time, when you lose it is noticed more after you were ahead.

I have final table over 20 times online in tourneys ranging from $1 to $60 buy ins, and in all my cashes i have found a similar theme, I am adventurous early, tighten up after i get a nice stack then in late middle stages i raise the aggression factor a little, but at home i just mill around waiting for good cards only to not get respect when i open raise for the first time at level 5, usually that indicates i have a hand, but i get 3 callers and wind up behind, could this be the reason i shell up, i am in damage prevention from the get go?

although my post seems a little cryptic, jumble, or just plain incoherent,

Guide me to winning the home game again please, all advice will be taken on board

The only advice I can give you here is to play out of your norm, loosen up a bit early-on, play the donkey for an orbit or two.
Throw the table off by playing in a way that the others are not accustomed to, seeing that it's YOUR home game, time to keep the money where it belongs.
you have made yourself predictable and totally readable.

very true, thanks

I seem to have the same problem. but i started playing cash games live and cleaned up 9 out 10 time. maybe try a cash game.

About once or twice a month my friends throw a home game where I deal and play. The first time we did this since I have some dealing svhool experiance I was made dealer and I offered to deal only and not to play but I would gratefully accept tips for dealing the night.

This is the first time we did this, about 1 hour in after getting around 8 dollars in tips, I asked is it ok if I play? They said sure you don't have to just deal, play too no problem.

I didn't buy in, I used my "tips".... by the end of the night I had 120 bucks. Now we/they all joke about the night where I took them all with only the tip money I got from them for dealing. Some of them don't tip me anymore

After about a year of this, ( I buy-in now, only did the tip thing that first game) I've only lost my buy-in once, broke even twice and average triple my buy-in most games. Home games are differant, my friends play too many hands, drink too much ( I don't drink), and haven't a clue about position, though I've tried to educate them a million times.

Last week was our first tournament set up, skill came in 2nd <<ME, luck came in first, my buddy kept drawing out on the turn or river to take out the best hand pre-flop/flop.

Anyway with all the information that you have on your buddies you should be able to do well in your home game.

Pick on Linc, Damien, Tim, Christne and Brendon, use position and avoid the others until you have the stack, hand and position. Use the image you've developed as the official "worst luck" player to YOUR advantage, if you win a big pot say; "you know even a broken clock is right twice a day" so they don't catch on to your focus.

EGO can be a huge factor in home games being that your playing close friends, check your ego carefully and often. If the game isn't going your way recognize that, you know the game, sometimes a bad run is just a bad run. Get'em next time or the time after but if your losing all the time, it's probably YOU, ego, bad decisions no self-control.

Good Luck

Make sure they are providing the refreshments.

the good news is, your posts helped, made me focus more on the game, also made me get more adventurous using position, i fell foul to a good draw and went down from 15000 to 3000 with 4 players left and blinds at 250/500, but i nursed the short stack well and hit my own 2 outer to double through and went on to win