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This article was written by blackrain79.com contributor Fran Ferlan.
Home games are arguably the most fun poker format out there, because you get to spend time with your friends instead of a bunch of random people.
And the only thing better than playing poker with your buddies is actually beating your buddies at the felt.
In this article, you will learn how to absolutely crush poker home games.
If these tips prove to be too effective, make sure to punt some of the money back, so you still get invited the next time around.
Let’s get right into it!
Poker Home Games Tip #1 - Make Big Isolation Raises Preflop
In most home games, you will likely see a lot of limping into the pot.
To limp into the pot means to just pay the big blind instead of making a raise.
To open-limp means to limp in when you’re the first player to enter the pot.
This is different from limping behind, where you limp in after another player has open-limped before you.
While limping behind can sometimes be a viable strategy, open-limping is usually a mistake, even if you’re playing soft home games.
I constantly harp on about the perils of open-limping, and how it should be avoided if you don’t want to lose your money.
I won’t go into much detail here, so you can check my other article on the 5 dreadful poker mistakes you must avoid if you don't want to lose your money.
Suffice it to say, if you see another player open-limping, it’s usually a good sign they’re a recreational poker player.
So the first tip to crush your home games is to identify the weaker players and make big isolation-raises against them when you see them open-limping.
Example:
You have A♥️J♥️ and 3 people limp into the pot in your home game
You should make a big isolation raise here!
As the name suggests, the goal of the isolation raise (or iso-raise for short) is to isolate the weaker player and hopefully play a heads-up pot against them post flop.
A heads-up pot is a pot with only two players involved, as opposed to a multiway pot where there are more than two players involved.
In most home games, you’re likely to encounter a lot of big, multiway pots with a bunch of players involved.
There’s a few reasons for this, mainly the fact that people just want to have fun and play some cards, so they don’t feel like folding and missing out on the action.
So in order to discourage big multiway pots, you need to make big raises preflop.
This is likely to produce a few grunts and groans from your buddies, but this only means you’re doing it the right way.
So which bet sizing should you use when you make an isolation raise?
The standard iso-raise size is 3 big blinds, plus one additional big blind per limper.
So 4 big blinds for one limper, 5 big blinds for two limpers and so on.
For example, let’s say you’re playing a home game with $0.5/$1 blinds structure.
If your opponent limps in for a dollar, you should raise them to 4 dollars. If there are two limpers, make it 5 dollars and so on.
However, it’s entirely possible that using standard bet sizing is not going to be enough to discourage getting a bunch of callers anyway.
If that’s the case, you have to bump up your iso raise size even more.
In fact, I often get the complaint that goes something like: I make a big raise preflop, but I still end up getting 4 callers!
But this only means you’re playing in a profitable game.
The solution to this “problem” is very simple: you just raise more!
If the standard iso-raise of 5 big blinds is not doing the trick, bump it up to 7, 8, or even 10 big blinds!
This may seem excessive, but it’s the best way to give yourself the best chance of winning the pot.
It’s a lot harder to win the hand in a multiway pot, because every additional player will have some chunk of equity against you.
Your hand equity simply refers to the percentage chance of winning the hand if all the players took their hand to showdown.
This is why you ideally want to play a heads-up pot (preferably against a weaker player) while being the preflop aggressor.
Now that we’ve established which bet sizing to use, let’s discuss which hands you should iso-raise with.
Since open-limpers tend to be weaker players, you can basically iso-raise with any hand that has good playability post flop.
This includes the top 20% of all hands in no-limit hold’em if you’re playing 6-max (the table with 6 players).
If you want to know EXACTLY which hands to play preflop, check out my latest video on YouTube.
I make new poker videos every week. Join 135,000+ who are already subscribed.
Poker Home Games Tip #2 - Play More Hands in Position
Another crucial tip to beat poker home games is to use the power of position to your advantage.
To play in position means being the last player to act in a betting round.
Here’s why you should aim to play most of your hands in position:
a) to get more information
Poker is a game of incomplete information, so a player with an informational advantage will come out on top more often than not.
If you’re the last player to act, you get to see what your opponents do first, while they have no idea what you’re about to do.
b) to control the pot size
Playing last allows you to dictate the price of the pot.
If you have a very strong hand, you can bet or raise to inflate the pot size. You also have the option of simply calling with your strong hand (i.e. slowplaying) to conceal your hand strength.
If you have a weak hand or a drawing hand, you can just check behind to see a free next card.
c) to bluff more effectively
Due to the positional disadvantage, your opponents won’t put up as much resistance if you show aggression.
This means you can often push them out of the pot with a well-timed bluff every time they check to you.
d) to realize your equity
The positional advantage will allow you to get to showdown more frequently, which means you’ll be able to realize your equity more often, even if you don’t have a particularly strong hand.
For example, let’s say you have Ace-high and you and your opponent check all the way to showdown.
You may still win the hand if your opponent only has a King-high hand.
There are other strategic advantages of playing in position, like the ability to float the flop more effectively.
You can check out my other article on advanced poker strategies if you want to learn how to float the flop like a pro.
So how do you play more hands in position?
You simply open-raise more hands when you’re playing in late table positions (the button and the cutoff), and play less hands in early table positions and when you’re playing in the blinds.
The cutoff is the seat on the direct right of the button, and should be your second most profitable seat overall.
Example:
You have K♦️5♦️ on the Button in your home game
You should make a raise here!
Basically, the closer you are to the button, the more hands you get to play and vice versa.
When you’re playing on the button in particular, you will ALWAYS have the position advantage post flop.
This means you can get away with playing a lot wider range on the button compared to other table position.
On the button, you can often get away with playing 40%, or even as much as 50% of all starting hands.
Your opponents probably won’t pay as much attention to their position, so they will play roughly the same ranges from all positions.
This is obviously a big mistake, since position gives you such a big advantage in the post flop play.
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Poker Home Games Tip #3 - Limp Behind With Speculative Hands
If you’re the first player to enter the pot, you should always do so with an open-raise.
And if another player limps in front of you, it’s usually a good idea to make an isolation raise and try to play a heads-up pot against them.
This is especially the case if you have a very strong hand preflop, like a premium pocket pair or a strong broadway hand (like Ace-King, Ace-Queen, King-Queen and so on).
These hands don’t really perform well in multiway pots, so you want to make a big raise to “thin the field” preflop.
However, you don’t always have to go for the isolation raise option.
In some situations, it’s actually a good idea to limp behind and try to see a cheap flop, instead.
A lot of amateur poker players limp into the pot because they want to see a cheap flop, but this can end up backfiring because they often get raised.
But if you’re playing in soft home games, you’re much less likely to get raised, and your opponents will often just limp behind to come along for the ride.
This means you’re much more likely to see a cheap flop and realize your equity.
Another reason limping behind can be ok is that you’ll usually get great pot odds and implied odds on a call.
Example:
You have 5♥️4♥️ and 3 people limp into the pot in your home game.
You should just limp behind.
Simply put, the pot odds are the ratio between the pot size and the price you need to call to continue playing the hand.
Pot odds essentially represent the risk to reward ratio, which poker is all about.
For example, let’s say you’re playing a $1/$2 cash game.
You’re in the small blind, and another player open-limps in front of you.
You have 1 dollar to call, and the pot size is 4 dollars. This means you’re getting 4:1 odds, so you need only 20% equity to break even on a call.
In practice, this allows you to get involved in the pot with a relatively wide range.
Of course, this is under the assumption that the player in the big blind will just check behind instead of raising.
If you want to know how to use pot odds to make better decisions at the table, check out my ultimate pot odds cheat sheet.
The pot odds tell you if your call is outright profitable in a given spot. However, they don’t tell you anything about additional money you can earn on future streets if you make a strong hand.
This is where the implied odds come into play.
Implied odds represent the potential money you can earn on future streets if you complete your draw, or if you make a strong combination that can win you a big pot.
And if you’re playing in soft home games, you will usually have great implied odds for a few reasons.
First of all, if you’re playing against a bunch of loose opponents, you’re much more likely to get action if you make a strong hand.
Secondly, your opponents may overvalue and overplay certain hands, which also makes you more likely to get paid off.
Finally, the third factor has to do with multiway pots we’ve discussed previously.
If there’s a lot of players involved in the pot, it’s more likely at least one of them will have something strong enough to pay you off with.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that you shouldn’t overestimate the implied odds to make loose calls, or worse yet, use them as an excuse to play trashy hands preflop.
Rather, you should look for opportunities to get involved in a cheap pot when you have some sort of a speculative hand.
Speculative hands are the ones that aren’t strong in and of themselves, but have the potential of making very strong combinations if they hit a favourable flop.
This includes hands like small pocket pairs and suited connectors.
Small pocket pairs (pocket Twos to pocket Sixes) usually don’t perform well post flop unless you are lucky enough to hit a set.
If you have a pocket pair, the chance of flopping a set is only 11.8%.
So if you always call preflop with any pocket pair, regardless of the pot odds, you’ll be losing money over the long run.
But if you have the opportunity to see a cheap flop, then set mining becomes a very profitable strategy.
You can check out my full guide on set mining for a deeper dive on the topic.
Similarly, suited connectors have the ability to make strong combinations like straights and flushes, but making these combinations is quite rare in no-limit hold’em.
This is why you should only play these hands if you’re getting decent pot odds and/or implied odds.
The good news is that you’re usually going to get decent odds in home games, since your opponents will usually play passively, and will also give you action if you manage to hit a strong combination.
Poker Home Games Tip #4 - Play a Wider Range Preflop
If you want to easily beat the low stakes poker games, your best bet is to play tight ranges preflop.
If you only play strong starting hands, you will get an automatic advantage over players who play just about any random hands.
This applies to both cash games like $2/$5 at your local casino like, as well as home games.
However, when you’re playing home games, it’s a good idea to slightly deviate from this rule, and slightly expand your ranges.
Example:
You have 7♥️5♥️ in your home game
You should play this hand sometimes!
There are a few reasons for this.
The first reason to loosen up your range in home games is that you (hopefully) don’t have to pay rake.
The rake is a small percentage of the pot the casino takes for the privilege of allowing you to play poker.
Most amateur poker players don’t really pay attention to rake, since they only play occasionally.
But the rake structure can have a significant impact on your bottom line over the long run.
If you want to be a winning player, not only do you need to beat other players, but you also need to beat the rake.
This is why playing tight is usually the correct strategy in a high rake environment, since playing more hands means paying out more rake.
But in home games, there is no rake, which simply means you can afford to play more hands.
Another reason to play looser ranges in home games has to do with the metagame.
If you’re playing home games, chances are you’re going to be playing with the same people over and over again.
This means that after a while, your opponents will start to notice your playing tendencies.
So if you play too tight, they’ll be less likely to give you action and pay you off.
This is why it’s a good idea to try to cultivate a loose table image, and even showing them an occasional bluff.
Of course, you want to be strategic with this approach, and not just make bad plays just for the sake of it.
For example, try to get involved in the pot more often when you’re playing in position, or in spots where you’re getting good odds on a call.
Also, you can get involved in pots against players that you know you have an edge against.
If you spot your opponent has a certain weakness, it’s a good idea to get involved in a pot with them, even if you don’t have a particularly strong hand.
These days, it’s not enough to wait around for premium hands to be a long term winner.
This is becoming increasingly true even for soft home games.
You also need to learn to pick up a few pots in less than ideal circumstances, like when you’re playing out of position against tough opponents who won’t just roll over.
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How to Beat Poker Home Games - Summary
Home games are usually very soft, so you don’t necessarily need to learn a lot of advanced poker strategy to beat them.
All you need to do is recognize some common beginner mistakes, and punish them accordingly.
To sum up, here’s how you can easily beat poker home games, as well as other low stakes cash games.
1. Make big isolation raises preflop
When you see a player open-limping into the pot, isolate them with a big raise so you can play a heads-up pot against them post flop.
If your iso-raises are still getting too many callers, increase your bet size until you can effectively “thin the field” preflop.
2. Play more hands in position
Playing in position gives you a huge edge over your opponents, especially if they don’t pay attention to their own table position.
By acting last in a betting round, you get an informational advantage, you can control the pot size, bluff more effectively, and you get to realize your equity more often.
3. Limp behind with speculative hands
If the game is very passive, consider limping behind with speculative hands to see a cheap flop and potentially hit a monster hand.
Speculative hands include small pocket pairs and suited connectors, which have the ability to make monster hands like straights, flushes, or full houses.
4. Play a wider range preflop
Since you don’t have to pay rake in home games, you get to play a wider preflop range.
This goes double if you also have some sort of a skill edge or a particular read on your opponents.
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This article was written by Fran Ferlan
Poker player, writer and coach
Specializing in live and online cash games
For coaching enquiries, contact Fran at fran.redline@gmail.com
Or apply directly for poker coaching with Fran, right here
Lastly, if you want to know the complete strategy I use to make $3000+ per month in small/mid stakes games, grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
