Playing home games = +EV

[GoCubsGo]

For the first time in months, I played a home game tonight with some acquaintances. I usually prefer to play online despite the fact that every single one of these guys is buddy list material, because it actually gets a little too crazy with the [censored] that goes on. Plus the playing one table at a time really hourly winrate, despite making more BB/100. What I found really valuable and made it worth it was hearing them talk and getting a view into the donk/fish psyche. A lot of times I just have no idea what a donkey is thinking. Playing live with a group of peope I know helped me out a little. They comment on everything. For example, they bet and raise really small, and when you make a PSB or PSR, they freak out. "$5?!? You must have a monster!" Also, they treat TPTK like it's unbeatable. I think this is because they see so few hands at one table that when they finally get something good, they get that much more excited. I knew all this at one time, but after readig 2+2 and other poker books exclusively,a move like raising K9 utg seems inconceivable. But after playing with a bunch of idiots, you can see what their reasoning is, and better manipulate them. One thingI'm taking with me is the small bets and raises thing. For example, next time I have a set on a drawless board, O'll surrender my quest for the other guy's stack, maybe betting only half the pot on each street to keep him in. I highly recommend playing a game with your local fish or donkey. By better understanding them, I can put them on more specific hand ranges and cater my bets perfectly to their desired action. Anybody know what I'm talking about/agree?