Loose Passive Home Game

[chaas4747]

My friend has adopted having a poker night 1 night a month at his house. He and his group have limited it to two NLHE 2 table tournaments each time. Buy in is small $20 or $30, with no rebuys. I am a limit mostly a limit player (and mostly play stud or O/8). Most of the players, play cards but really don't study the game. They are what I would categorize as loose passive, call a lot of bets; really do not raise that often, etc.
I am not doing well at switching my game to accommodate this type of play. Here is my question, am I better off abandoning pre-flop raises, waiting to see if I think I have the best hand after the flop and playing more "post flop" poker. The reason I am asking is it seems to me, in this type of game, my pre-flop raise is really not limiting the field the way I would like for it to. I am still in the pot with 2 or 3 players and if I do not hit the flop, I really can't bet into the pot without being called down by a hand that should have never been in there in the first place. Any suggestions?

[RiverDood]

How much is busfare to your game?? I want in!

Here are some thoughts about opening hands:

1. Keep pushing the pot hard with AA, KK and AK. These are powerhouse hands headsup or multiway. If they want to call, that's their mistake. No reason to be timid about those hands. If you've got good post-flop skills, you can take down more than your fair share of pots with AK -- and avoid landmines -- no matter what the flop.

2. Play JJ and TT more softly, treating them as just another pocket pair, good for limping on hopes of a set. If it's impossible to get A-rag, Kx and Qx to fold, no matter what, there's no sense in getting overcommitted pre-flop. (QQ is a special headache, but then again, it always is.)

3. Expand your starting hand selection to do more with 9Ts, 77, etc. Sounds like this game is paradise for hands with multiway possibilities. If the table is really passive, you may be able to enter with these from almost any position and hope for a flop that pays off.

4. Get more aggressive as the game plays out. It's funny how loose/passive players become tight/weak once they're short on chips. By the third level of blinds, if you've got a chip lead, you can push the shorter stacks around with AJs and maybe even A8s. Conversely, if you're short-stacked, think about pushing yourself if no one else is in the pot yet.