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anyone ever found a home game softer than online poker

Every time I go to a home game, it feels like stepping into an alternate universe compared to the usual grind online. Not saying my friends are clueless or anything, but you get all sorts - folks who haven’t read a strategy book in their lives, some who play super loose after a couple drinks, and just general loose-aggressive chaos that you barely see once you leave the play-money tables online. The swings feel wilder, even if the pots are sometimes smaller, and people get stubborn about their favorite hands in a way that rarely happens online unless it’s microstakes.

But maybe that’s just my circle. I’ve heard from some of you that home games in bigger cities can be way tougher, especially if you get a regular crew that takes notes or splits action or whatever. Curious if anyone’s actually found a home game so soft it makes online feel like the shark tank, or if the home field advantage always evens things out in the end?

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9 comments
R
270••7 replies

Yes, and the part people miss is “soft” and “better” are not the same thing in Poker. I’ve sat in home games where three guys limp every hand, one dude is half-lit, and another thinks top pair is the nuts soooo yeah, softer than online by a mile. But then the game crawls, the rake or “tip the host” nonsense eats you, and everybody knows each other so the action gets weird. Online is tougher player for player. Home games are usually dumber. Doesn’t automatically mean more profitable from my experience.

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P
2,220••3 replies

What kills it for me is the money handling, not the play. Home game with Venmo IOUs starts feeling like a crypto casino real fast, cute till cashout gets softer than the game itself

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O
737•

Venmo IOUs are where the rot starts. Crypto casinos at least show the lie up front, home guys do it with a smile.

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K
370•

Venmo stack once turned into "ill get you Friday" for 2 weeks, drove me insane. Soft game, softer cashout!!!

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R
371••1 reply

Lmao soft as baby food till the host drops a reload bonus for the fish 🍻 you counting that “tip the host” as rake or nah?

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G
657•

Tip the host is rake, got burned once lol

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S
378•

Yeah, plenty. The assumption that “home field advantage” evens it out is giving way too much credit to guys limping junk, calling 3 streets with middle pair, then blaming the beer, and I’ve seen the same thing in Sports Betting with people swearing they’ve got a read on the room when really they’re just donating slower than online regs. A bad home game is softer than most low-stakes pools, easy.

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