For context play .5/1 at a home game, usually live, and lately ran into a pretty upsetting downswing of roughly ~20 buy-ins in the past 5 sessions or so. Consistently getting set-mined and losing the max on dry boards, flopping a set and losing to straight, flush over flush etc. etc.

Obviously, bad beats are to be expected but I noticed that when I am on the other end, I seem to be getting minimum value unless I am in situations where we are short-stacked and have no choice but to get it in.

At this point, I feel like there is something wrong with my game, preflop range, and overall play style where I'm winning the minimum and losing the max.

For context, the game I play is pretty splashy, lots of multiway pots against opponents with fairly wide ranges, and are generally difficult to shake off and a bluff. Usually, a raise of 3-5 big blinds will get called multiway and I end up in positions with my premiums where I don't know where I am at. Would also note that there are a fair amount of limpers in this game as well.


Any general tips on how to strategize to beat this game? What ranges should I play from each position, and what should I be willing to call 3 bets? How often should I be 3 betting and with what hands? Seem to be at a loss as I can't book a win, win the minimum and constantly lose, and my bluffs are consistently getting called.


**Note the mistake in the title, most of the players at this table are recreational.

Raise larger and stop bluffing

Raise larger pre after tightening your range some, minimize bluffs until you get heads up with people who can fold, realize overpairs are not the nuts multiway, stop plaing suited cards below Kx as frequently.

Stop playing trash hands almost completely

I am in a similar game as homegamewhale, it is 1/3 at my local casino.

How big should I raise? I have seen three big blinds + one for each limper being suggested in a lot of places (I am currently reading mastering small stakes no-limit), but ~$12 will always get multiple callers. Should I go as high as 20-25? Even higher? Most of my poker has been mtt with retirees, I am not used to raising like that when deep stacked.

One time I was in the big blind with AKo, seven limpers behind me. I went all in! Is this a reasonable play?

Is it worth limping in with small pocket pairs and suited connectors?

Experiment. If they will chase your premium hands for 25 each charge them 25. Yes your raise out everyone and take the money was a reasonable play so long as you are not too deep and it is not repeated often enough so they learn to limp pocket Ks or As into a easy to see shove.

To Op; if they won't fold often enough to bluffs you can't bluff and win. Means you are printing money when you value bet however. They get to decide how they will lose to you; you need to adjust your play to theirs not reward them for their mistakes.

Adjust your game to your opponents. If they won’t fold, do try to get them to fold. Bet when you have value, preferably a monster hand, and let them pay you off. Focus your starting range more on hands that play well multi-way— suited connectors and pocket pairs for instance, and less on hands that do not play well multi-way, such as unsuited broadway combos. Overlimping PF can be profitable in games like this — you are looking for good direct and implied odds to play your suited connectors and set mine with pairs. However raising with such hands can also be profitable if your raises are not thinning the herd and are not causing them to fold more when you bet on later streets. You still get favorable odds in that situation and are playing bigger pots when you do hit.

Remember, beating opponents like this means that you will end up with more money than you started with. That seems obvious, but all too often I hear people bitch that they cannot beat such a game because they lost a stack when some idiot shoved pre with some rando crap hand and cracked their aces, or that nobody respects their raises and they end up folding to a donk bet on the flop. You will likely face frustrating situations like that. Beating these opponents does not mean you get to win a lot of pots. Quite the opposite in fact; you must pick your battles in such a game, but when you do you should win big and make up for all the small pots you lost.

If you're in splashy multiway pots often then the variance goes up. You'll never realize if your winning with the short sessions of a home game by pushing edges. Sometimes waiting and playing more really strong hands (nut peddling) in these games is what's necessary for a beginning loser player to become a winner.