2 home games

[ChuckTs]

Well sunday night i played in a couple small buy-in homegames with some guys i used to play poker with when i was just learning
we were all on the same level, but since then i have improved significantly, and they really haven't played at all, so they're still pretty poor players
Player 1: Loose and aggressive, but still very smart - either him or me usually win the home games
Player 2: Me. I'm playing fairly tight and very aggressive
Player 3: Tight and passive. He will only really commit himself with a top-10 hand
Player 4: Loose and slightly aggressive. Very confusing playing against him; sometimes he will just push with nothing to try and steal the pot


I ended up playing about 5 hands total throughout both of the tournies, and here are the two that buried me:

Hand 1 (first tourny): Blinds are getting big, so i loosen up; I raise 4XBB UTG with KQs and all folds around to BB (Player 1) who calls
Flop: K-9-8 rainbow
He bets small and i raise about the pot, and he calls
Turn:K-9-8-J rainbow
He checks and i bet the same amount i did last round, which is about 1/3 of my stack, and he pushes
i think for a while and am 99% sure he doesnt have QT but 2 pair is a possibility
i end up calling, and he turns over KJ for two pair....i should have known

Hand 2 (second tourny): This is just bad luck, but i raise UTG again with ATo and get one caller (Player 3) behind me
Flop: K-Q-J with flush draw
I bet the pot and he raises all in; i quickly call. He flips over KJ
Turn: K-Q-J-4, still no flush
River: K-Q-J-4-J
arg!
anyways just needed to vent
i find it so much harder to play against these guys now than before, because of the difference in skill - it's just impossible to read them.
I decided because of this i'd just tighten up and play only top 10 hands, but that didn't really work.

 

[Osmann]

I know how you feel. Playing against opponents who, the only thing they know about poker is, that it is important to mix up your game. They will play virtually any hand in any position in a different way every time. So when I play with my friends, I've found that the physical tells are the only thing I have. For instance how close to them self they put their chips when they bet is a very good tell if they are bluffing or not. close to them self and they expect to get their chips back. Far away they don't expect to get them back. If they seem confident and slams their chips in the board when they call, bet or raise is often a huge sign of weakness. If they glance at their chips after the flop comes, they probably have a good hand, cause they allready know when the flop comes they want to bet it. Theese are some things you should try to look at, and then forget all about their betting patterns, cause they don't tell you anything. Not alll players have the same tells, but if you try to pay attention to it I'm almost completely sure you will pick up a few tells on all you opponents.

 

[colin_147]

When I play home games I play a very loose, seeing as many flops as possible because some of the players border on awful and it is pretty easy to outplay them on the flop or later in the hand

Playing as tight as you did, you would normally expect to get paid when you play a hand but, as you saw, this isnt always the case. I think that why we love the game!!

You were in front both times but just got outdrawn on the turn/river.

Dont worry about it. hopefully the confidence your opponents get from the unlikely wins will play to your advantage in the next game

Remember, sometimes showing a weakness to inferior players will often allow them to think they have your number, then you can change gears and take down the pots and the money!

 

[H8POKER]

Yeah same thing for me. I was playing a home game on Friday. 9 people most people didn't really know how to play. the worst thing was we started with 3000 chips and they didn't want to change the blinds till every hour. I ended up needing to re-buy before anyone was able to get knocked out. But after 6 hours the host was so drunk we had to end the game with the 4 of us left. We split the pot up and I walked away with $40 but what a joke.

 

[tenbob]

When I play home games I play a very loose, seeing as many flops as possible because some of the players border on awful and it is pretty easy to outplay them on the flop or later in the hand

Excactly the way i play these donks at home games. Some of the guys that i play with will call any raise (except maybe an all-in) with 2 suited cards, 2 connecting cards or any 2 broadway cards. So the key is to see lots of flops and raise big with premium hands.

Call min-raises with suited connecting cards or any 2 broadway cards, Axs especially in big pots.

Ok its a loose way of playing, but get out of dodge if the flop is no help, dont bluff until the very late stages, and if you get AA-QQ make sure you get paid for it.