I play good poker, except for when I am in my home game, please help!

[Shoe]

Hi everyone,

First-time poster in this forum, so sorry if this has already been discussed numerous times.

I play online and B&M poker 20-30 hours per week, and do quite well at it. However, about 2-4 times per month, I get together with friends and play low-stakes poker "just for fun." However, I have found that I am definitely a loser in my home games. I think it is a combination of playing at lower stakes than I am used, and trying to have "fun" at the same time, as opposed to the serious poker i normally play. Maybe this is healthy and keeps me at the top of my game in my other games (kind of like Daniel N.'s party nights), but at the same time, my friends are much worse poker players than me, and I don't understand why I keep losing to them without fail. Has anyone gone through something like this before?

Thanks!

[Gamblor]

Same thing happened to me when I was younger (read: two years ago).

1) You're trying to run over the game. You think you're better than everyone else and thus you're trying to win every pot.

Inferred from this is:

2) You're not playing good poker in B+Ms, you're playing tight poker. Good poker is much more than waiting for good cards and pounding your good hands and avoiding trouble spots. It's being able to take advantage of betting structures, being able to not only classify opponents but use their weaknesses to your advantage. It's being able to take any poker game anywhere on earth and use your knowledge to make yourself a favourite in them.

BTW, as much as you can learn from a book, there is no (I repeat NO) substitute for a few years experience. Books are a foundation.

[twankerr]

[ QUOTE ]
1) You're trying to run over the game. You think you're better than everyone else and thus you're trying to win every pot.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's the exact problem I have. Playing .25/.50 NL with random kids around the town that have no experience other than WSOP and WPT on TV, I turn into hyper aggressive bluffman. 3rd hand of the night? I'm raising my T2s and not slowing down until showdown! Who cares if hes called the whole way with an ace on the board.

The second point you make is also valid. I believe this was what the last chapter or two of TOP was about. Pick it up and read it.

[shant]

Isn't this the point of playing occassionally in a $10 buy-in tourney? I just play to have fun bluffing and acting like a LAG. I'm not putting it into my charts or going back and analyzing my play, it's just a time to have some fun.