Best No Limit Hold'em Structure for Small Home Games?

[kasual]

I host my own poker game usually 2 nights a week. The poker boom has infected most of my friends and I can easily seat 8-10 people every time we play. Here's our normal structure:

No limit Texas hold'em $20 buy-in, anytime a player is below $20 he/she can rebuy up to $20 when they are not currently involved in a hand. Blinds are 0.25/0.50.

Anyone with a decent knowledge of no limit can clean this game up, I'll be honest. This style of game has paid my rent nearly every month this year. Most of the players are extremely passive until they hit a hand, then they are not afraid to throw a lot money in the pot, but not a dime before they have a decent hand (decent being 2 pair or better.)

Here's what my issues are with this structure, In my ring of friends and aquientances who play with me, I am consider one, if not, the best player at our table (I'm not bragging, trust me!) and I figured after months of playing with these guys, they're skills would increase and we would have some stellar hard fought battles at the table. This doesn't seem to be happening. I find myself getting bored with the play and I decide to experiment with different stragegies and whatnot because I know how to beat the game with the structure we play at and the people I play against.
Living in Pennsylvania, my options for games are limited, most are very private clubs, and the only private club I belong only play 7 card stud (which I enjoy and have for a few years, but I feel hold'em is my better game.) and Atlantic City is a 2 hour drive, after tolls and gas, it really takes a chunk out of the profits.

I guess my question is, what is the best format for a home game to help increase abilities and envoke action? Raise the stakes? maybe a limit game like $1/2 or $2/4? We've gotten to the point where people will come and willing play $60, noone has bought in more than $60 (basically, bought in $20, goes all-in at some point, rebuys, all-in, rebuy, play extremely tight)

Sorry for the long post, but I've been fighting with this problem for a while.

Thanks,
kas

[The Armchair]

Go to AC -- and bring them with you. You can't play there for $20, and they'll enjoy the action that a 2/4 or even 3/6 provides. You can probably move to those stakes at your home game.

[jmark]

Sorry I don't understand. You're paying your rent with winnings from a $20 buy-in game? If you play twice a week you would need to win like $100 each night? Do you just take everyone's money each time, and they still keep coming back?

[kasual]

haha, my rent probably isn't as much as you think it is, $500 split by my girl and I. So, I average $250 a month winnings. Which I'm happy with, I'm not so much concerned with winning a ton of money off my friends, but I am interested in improving my game and being able to play the bigger games with confidence when they come around. I have hit AC a few times and played 2/4 with positive results.

I am considering having a higher limit game maybe once a month where I might be able to break into a bigger circle of higher limit players and see how I do, I guess. I am afraid that some of my staple players will not play in a higher limit game. Maybe that's not my problem to worry about.

Money isn't my 100% motivation, I love the challenge and the pyschology of the game. I'd like to see the regular players get better and bring more of a challenge to my weekly game. I just don't know how to go about bring up the level of play without giving lessons or telling them to pick up a book.

I don't know if I just explained myself a little better or just made it harder to understand. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Lottery Larry]

Have different game nights for different groups.

Or, get enough people that if you have enough room and tables, you can spread more than one game- that's how i do it at my home game.

Or, find another home game to visit yourself for higher limits.

[jmark]

[ QUOTE ]
haha, my rent probably isn't as much as you think it is, $500 split by my girl and I.

[/ QUOTE ]

Crap that's cheap. If you want to move up in limits you should just get on the internet, I think. You can play more hands there with the same or worse opponents.

[kasual]

haha, yeah it is pretty cheap, especially if you see the size of the place we live in.

I have/do play online. Once, I won 5 bucks in a freeroll tourney on pacific poker, and after about 3 weeks of playing just on that 5 bucks, I cashed out with a grand. I peaked at around 1,300. That was my best winnings online. Sadly for some reason, I have trouble on party poker, I can not come out a winner when I put cash into that poker room for some reason, it's like a hex, or I'm jinxed.

2/4 limite hold'em was my solid game at pacific, which propelled me to the success I had there. I haven't put any money back in pacific, I'm afraid to tarnish the luster of that nice run. haha.

[jmark]

Yeah the pacific 2/4 is definitely a good game. You probably just got unlucky at party.

[Kdowski]

I would suggest NL Tournament play. I run one once a month $30 buy in for 2900 in chips. We usually get 20-30 people and it runs for about 4 hrs.
With a tournament you can play hands you would'nt normally in a ring game and also be aggresive without driving everyone out. This will get more people involved in the hands and thus help increase your skill level by read hands, reading people, and figure odds etc.... I would also suggest that if you get more then 10 people break it down to 2 tables = more hands played per hour for you.

[kasual]

That's actually some great advice!

I did have a sunday tournament yesterday, $20 buy-in got you 500 in chips, anytime below 500 a rebuy of $10 would get you 500 chips, up until level 4. Before level 5 started you were able to add-on 1000 chips for $20. Blinds started at 10/20 and increased every 20 minutes. It was a great tournment with some very decent play. 8 players in all, prize pool hit $290, paid the top 3 (60% for first, 30% for second and 10% for third).

I must say it was a very sucessful tournament. Everyone seemed happy with the amount of money and also stayed around for a nice game after.

I placed 2nd, to a great friend of mine who had the perfect strategy for heads-up. His strategy was this: I'm so happy to have 2nd place that I'll bluff at every pot and every hand. Which was perfect given the size of the blinds and the fact that I couldn't even beat a bluff with the hands I had, and when I thought I caught him, he flopped the nut flush! It was a great time and I was glad to see him win.