Do you soft play the fish at your home game? Unlike a casino, you see the same people every week at a home game, and take their money. Do you ever not squeeze out that last bit of value just to be nice and keep the mood light?

I kind of felt bad at the game tonight when I cleaned out one of the players. He's really really bad and doesn't really stand a chance, and I thought afterwards, maybe I could have just checked down the river instead of getting that last big value bet in... He was up pretty big for the session after hitting a couple lucky hands, and I pretty much wiped out all his profit. A couple hands later I actually kind of purposely chip dumped a little back to him because he seemed really down about losing so much.

What do you guys think?

I have soft played to some of the fish at the home game as well. I always try to keep the game fun and be talkative to everyone. They call me Phil Hellmuth (is that an insult?) because I usually walk away with profit. I buy the host of the game a fifth of his favorite whiskey and even throw in a few $1 lotto tickets into the pot. Man if you want to see a pot build throw in a lotto ticket people are bluffing left and right to win the ticket.

Back to the point I do soft play because it is not about the $30-40 I win rather hanging out watching my Detroit sports, drinking a few beers, and forgetting about work. I always try to play my best, but I do not want to run the game dry. I know this can be a touchy subject and I would never do this in a casino or another home game I rarely attend.

soft playing is a big red flag to the universe that you'd like your doomswitch activated. Play your rushes for what they're worth, and be very, very hesitant to assume your profits are a result of your skill more than luck.

Yes, you cleaned out a guy who was playing badly, but next week or next month he'll be stacking your chips after spiking a 2 outer (while congratulating himself on his clever play, of course), and we'll all be consoling you with "in the long run...". But the long run math doesn't work if you cap your upswings.

Beyond that, softplaying is a form of condescension, and nobody likes that. Assuming you're all adults at the table and not playing with grocery money, he undoubtedly wants you to play the way you think the hands should be played. He always has the option to play better, but if you don't play honestly, he won't be able to judge how his skills relate to other players'.

If you want to give something back to the game, spend your winnings on booze/pizza/poker gear. You can also do things like lag up your play to be perhaps less optimal from an EV standpoint, but use it as a personal exercise as well as livening up the game.

+1. Why do I even come into these threads after gedanken?

I never softplay in my home games, especially against the loose fish. Variance usually rewards them often enough to keep them playing. My games are for low stakes, so I'm not taking my buddy's mortgage payment by bringing my A game. And in these low stakes "friendly" games, I want my opponents to play their best game against me. As gedanken said, it's insulting for me to do any differently.

However, I will sometimes gamble to liven up the game when I'm doing well, or to give a stuck fish a chance to take down a pot. For example, last night I took down a 9-man tourney and was well ahead in the cash game afterwards. Last orbit had been called, and a stuck loose player shoved his last 20bb pre-flop. I called blind just to give him some action.

Somehow, my pocket kings held up against his 97o.

This is not something I would be bragging about.

Oh, and, gedanken nailed it.

Absolutely soft play the fish, at least if he reloads often. There is a particular deep pocketed bookie who plays at our games, and he'll dump 2k in an hour at a 1/2 game any night of the week. But if he gets steamed he'll quit after losing 2 stacks (which may end up being 2k anyway with uncapped buyin lol). Everybody does their part to keep him in the game.

I don't think this is necessarily wrong, either - it depends on the type of home game you play in.

In a low stakes game between friends, for me and many others it's more about the competition than the money, and I will never bring less than my strongest play.

If I'm playing more for profit than competition & camaraderie, home game or casino, I'll do what it takes to ensure that the fish dump as much money into my stack as possible. If that means slowing down or giving the steaming bookie a small pot to keep him from stomping home, then so be it. I'm not a big fan and won't do this often, but I can see situations where it might be +EV.

gedanken pretty well got it right on.

The only question i have is how long have you been cleaning up the game?

Well for instance lets say I 3 barrel air and catch some impossible runner runner gutshot he'll never see on the river. If I'm driving the action I'll just c/c rather than put him all in in which case he gets pissed and leaves. If I have AA I'll probably just bet 2 streets and check river to him. Now if he's driving the action I'll of course play my nut hands accordingly and he'll just chalk it up to a cooler.

In my situation, the game is fairly new. This was only the 4th time we played. I am the sort of "host" even though we play at a bar. I want to make sure people continue to be interested so the game keeps going. Can't really afford to lose a regular at this point.

I have ended up the BIG winner 2 out of the 4 times and slightly down the other two times. I agree with your take on variance Gedanken, but really against this quality of players, the long run is pretty short.

probably more than 4 sessions though, no matter how trrbl they are

Generally no but there are exceptions.

Also, even though I usually don't soft-play them I go out of my way to make sure to do the little things like promptly tabling hands and the like. It just doesn't make any sense not to.

Never against a regfish. The only time I'll softplay is if someone is a first timer, somebody's girlfriend or wife and is obviously in way over their head---e.g., first time playing PLO or O8, etc. Against someone who just has to play 80% of the hands they are dealt or can't fold a flush draw, never. They river the flush, trips or whatever often enough.

I play in a friendly game where the host and his friends don't understand the basics of hand selection or position, let alone post-flop play. The stakes are small and I'm not going to treat them like I do at a casino 20/40 game just because it's "rude to softplay." I've had situations where I deliberately lost money back.

Crushing a friendly game, however it is happening, is a recipe for bent feelings and not being invited back.

Soft-playing where there is a massive skill gap is not condescending. Recreational players of any activity don't like getting lit up by experts. If a Div I. NCAA basketball player is blazing his recreational-player friends in a pickup game in the park, that guy is being an *******.

4 games does not reflect the players ablity. Your not crushing the game, not by a long shot. Play your A game and see how it goes over the next 4-6 months