Home games......

What would be a good "strategy" per say to take down a home game.. I play with my friends a lot, as well as a few hours a day online, but when I do play at home with friends.. they aren't very good, and always play poorly and call when they (theoretically) shouldnt, and kinda just screw over my game. I can always place ITM at home, buts its kinda hard to beat some friends of mine using any skill becuase they will call anything and raise anything. any simple strategy suggestions?

thanks, Bryan.

Um, yeah. Your friends are really bad players, which is normal for a home game.

Now, you need to recognize that possibly two things are going on here:

1) You are not used to how much variance tournaments have, and you're expecting to win more often than you really will if you're playing a solid game.

2) You suck at poker almost as much as your friends do, and therefore you're not winning.

I'd lean towards #2, but I'll let you make up your own mind. But when you say "my friends will call with anything, I can't beat them" that pretty much means that you can't beat a player that practices a losing strategy.

My strategy suggestion is to read some strategy... Harrington on Hold'em is a good place to start.

If they play extremely loose, calling everything..
Get it in with the best hand. Tighten up.

I hate home tournament poker. Not worth the effort in keeping blinds, chipping up, and the fact that if you get knocked out your night is over!!!

My solution.

1) Learn cash.
2) Convince your friends to play cash (will require some selling), or host the cash game yourself.
3) Play all night.
4) Take all their $.

Also an excellent strategy.

Agreed on the cash game idea.

FWIW, here's a couple of points that might help you sell it:

- You don't need to worry about tournament clocks and rising blinds and all that boring crap with a cash game.
- You can't get knocked out on the first hand of a cash game so there's no risk that some of the players will be sitting out bored all night.
- You do have the option of sitting out in a cash game so people don't have to worry about either missing hands or having to stop the whole game if they want to take a leak / get another beer / promise their girlfriend that yes they'll come home one day / etc.

IMO cash games sell themselves in home game settings.

Make the necessary adjustments for their playing styles.... ie. if they're loose calling stations, raise more than you typically would. Also, don't bother to semibluff in position in most cases.. just check behind. Play your big hands fast & value bet them to death. Don't bluff them ever (obviously depends.. ie. if they're folding when you bet scare cards.. ie. A on turn, etc.).

home games are so hard to play against bad players... i can never win so i dont play them any more

I know, I can never out swim those quadriplegics, but I do much better against Michael Phelps.

and i also understand the variance and I'm fine with it. I'm not expecting to win, im just pointing out how much more difficult it seems to be over tournys elsewhere (not at home) to take home a win using strategies

ive read that. and several other books. I know strategy but even if i play tight like I belive would be the best probable way to play and let them call me when i do play hands that have good EV, and it usually works most the game. but down to 3 people left it just seems that strategy falls apart a bit at my home games, and it always ends up as a 3 way coin flip on winning.. =(

Its close to a coin flip. You're probably pushing a 60% edge when the stacks get short. So in the short run, it will seem a lot like a coin flip. But if you played 100 heads up tournaments, the correct strategy will win 60, and lose 40, which adds up to a nice profit.

I agree on the changing to a cash format. There are some guys in my neighborhood that put together a monthly game that has similar players to what you describe. This is what I experience when playing with them.

1.) Bluffing doesn't work because they almost never fold. Typical calling stations.
2.) When they hit a hand, they check raise too much when betting would have netted them better profit.
3.) They nearly always check or overbet the pot if they miss.
4.) They always over value top pair.

To combat these issues, I tighten my game up and only play decent to good hands. I never flat out bluff unless I am heads up and have a very good read but will semi bluff occasionally if I have a decent amount of outs. Basically just playing basic tight aggressive poker makes me a decent amount of cash in this situation. Good luck!

Edit: I almost forgot the most important part of my strategy: Buy cheap beer and keep their glasses full but do not drink yourself. It's a small investment with a great return.

In the home games I play in we've managed to convince everyone to play cash games. Everyone now loves it and we havent played a tourney since.

The freedom of a cash game suits a home environment.

-people can show up at different times/you dont have to wait for everone to arrive before you start

-when someone busts they have an unlimited chance to get back in the game and win it back so they dont feel left out of the game

-hands are more fun to play/more action cause no one is worried about busting out of a tourney

-people can take a smoke/bathroom break and dont have to hold up the game

-no one has to pay attention to the time to make sure the blinds increase

-straddles

but the best part is probs that you dont have to play a flipament

Forgot to add another +

buying in deep/playing deep stacked

I think I'm going to try to get a cash game goin.. give it a try then. this next question may sound real dumb but in a home cash game.. whats the best way to do it? we usually buy into tournys at like $5 or $10 with 8 or 9 players.. what are good blinds you think my friends will be down for that will keep them playing long.. not so high and not too low.. and what are good ways to do cashouts and chipping etc? maybe force everyone to bring their money in dimes nickels and quarters and play with that instead of chips perhaps? Like if i took in money and gave out chips.. how can I make sure everyone cashes out in the end of the night a good way?

i hope that made sense..

Have a friend act as a cashier (changes $ into chips and vice versa), make sure you bring at least ten $1 bills to buy in with, and play 10NL (5c/10c blinds). I usually host the games, and 10 one dollar bills is usually enough to make everyone cash out happy. If we have some dimes & nickels left over after cash out, we'll usually play a game of badugi for it or something like that.

We usually buy in for multiples of $10 and play like every chip represents a quarter. Blinds stay at 25/50 cent all night. Most buy in for $20 to $40.

thanks thats good advice! I just wanted to know what to do if say people buy in.. but in the end the way the money is split up.. its impossible to cash out basically

Hi, I've playing hate home tournament poker for few months but no I'm no longer with it. there is no worth the effort in keeping blinds and the real fact is that get knocked out your night is over...

If you don't enjoy playing with them because they are so bad then there may only be two choices. 1) don't play with them anymore 2) help them improve their game

idk some of them are good.. some suck terriblyy.. i feel like if i tried to help them , i could be giving the people who do know wats up, and the crappy players, a insight basically on the way i tend to play lol so i dont do that.. idk. lol

maybe your friends are bad players but i was doing same thing...
playing with my friends at my friends restaurant and i started with explaining them basics, like two pairs are weaker then three of a kind and basic things like that...
after a while we talked, when we drinked cofee, about rules, bets and posibilities...
and in few months they became very good players, i mean very good as they weren t a players at all...
even wives and girlfriends come and take our money now hehe...
so if you have patince to even try to learn anyone anything about texas beware of females hehe
hope you ll enjoy it one day like i am now...
of course...talking about "casual" game...

then stop playing with them hehe

eh they are fun people to play with. its small games, but still it adds up if im not taking home a 1st place win after a while. always 2nd or 3rd

ohh well.

I'm trying to find more lil home games and other places to play around home now.. starting to find new regular games here and there

My friends suck at poker too... I usually just try to have fun and not worry about winning. I play pretty loose by my standards, and they complain that I play too tight... its pretty funny, they have no idea what tight really is.

play tight aggressive..make sure you get a big sum of chips from them if you have a good hand..assuming that their you friends.. study their habits.. like if they raise a lot when they have AQ or a monster hand.. or if their loose or something..Make sure you don't give them a free hand.. like letting them chase

because they are fun and you enjoy spending time with them you need to learn them...at least basics...it will be more fun...
and if you don t like that someone is better then you that will only improve your play and you ll have to learn even more

I agree poker is about being free I feel like I'm in elementary school caged in at a tournament/home game sit n go..

I would also play pot limit instead of no limit... PLaying limit with super loose home game buddies just doesn't work ..

In one home game "with usually 7 loose players" that I play in we HAD a guy that did just as some of you suggested.. He played very tight to counter the loose players.. After several months of him doing this he has no longer been invited to play ..

So my suggestion to you is don't play to aggressive all the time you are playing with people you enjoy being around ...

Really? just play $1/$2 $60-$300 buy in cash games . . .

Same as above for u2, why not just play 1/2. Even if you dont have enough money, save up for the game, and people will play more serious.

Well, my neighbors just do it mostly for fun. I will start cutting into their drinking money if we move it much higher.

I gotcha... my goal when I play is to make a little bit of money, atleast $100 dollars. I guess it's all good and fun to play those limits, I just wouldn't do it myself cause I know a lot of donkeys wouldn't take the game as seriously with a low amount of money.

Get to know how they play really well.Get to know the ins and outs of of they play their hands so that you will have a better shot at making more money in the long run.

sooo i finally just beat that home game. didnt play with em for over a week, came back strong. and wno tonight. small win, but its a win none the less finally. =]