Playing Poker with Buddies

This is one of my first posts or first post, not sure. But i will continue to.

My friends and I play alot poker, mainly live against each other and but individuadly online at poker stars.

We play tournament style, buy in for anywhere 10 to 30 dollars, from 5 people to 8 or 9. We sometimes play bigger games with 24 people or so. They usually start on at 2pm or 3pm and go to 11pm or 12pm. Usually with 20 chips if it is a 10-20 dollars buyin and 30 if its 30 dollars. The games i win, which is not often, just seems like such a joke. I really do not do anything amazing when I win. Except call the right all ins. Does anyone get this kind of feeling, or am I the only one?

Like last night i won 60 dollars with five of us, second place got money back. I played pretty good hands at the beginning lost with a couple of bad flops. Then I folded pocket sevens, when i raised all in. Not liking my luck at that point. Now sitting, pretty much at short stack. The player to my right, usually plays quite a tight game, he had already stolen a few of my big blinds, when he raised twice the big blind, i look at the cards in hand, two nines, raised all in he called, show pocket eights. He did not catch eight so i doubled and was in the chip lead. Next hand he doubled up on a flush with A-Q, against A-K. So he was now the chip lead. I basically rode this stack to the final 3 where i was in 2nd. At one point I picked up pocket aces, raised the twice big blind first to act, everyone folded. How does every one else play the american airlines? (aggresive? passive?) . Play a few hands with three us, got the chip lead back. I was dealing raised the BB with KQ , still the same player to my left raised all in with A-J, i called it came out Q-10-4 -Q -8 , so i took a huge lead into the final (75$-25$). He said he was going play like... ( some guy's stragety where u raise all-in with a certain or better heads-up). So second of heads up i dealt, goes all in i look K-10 "CALL" he shows Q-10, it came up K-J-4-10-8. So basically i won the game with 3 all in hands.

So if anyone feels this easy lucky streak when play live games, or doesn't, just like to find how everyone feels how ther eplaying.

The times when I win, I am not confident at all. I just sit there and talk with people. Feel them out, then I become less aggressive. People who know me know I am inately aggressive. So when I slow play things people are thrown off, they notice it quickly though, so change gears and go for the throat before someone catches a flush on the river then you are down and out cause one monster hand...Been there, done that and lost my t-shirt...

Agressive but tight is how i play but dont be over confident or under you just gotta enjoy the game

Just hosted a home game and was the first to go south. The game just started on a bad moon - everyone was giving their two cents on what the blind progression should be, chip count to start, etc.

We also had a newbie at the table (you could smell the fish and his feet from the other side of the table!) which kinda stunk because we were wasting time explaining him the rules.

of course, he went all in with his A-7 and busted out early.

I dunno - it's a tough line to organize a home game, keep everyone playing by the rules, keep everyone's attention and yet still have a good time without having to bust balls.

So basically, if you're organising the game, make sure you have everything set up ahead of time (beer cold, food organised, music selected if you want that, chips organized, blind progression chart set-up, timer, cards ready, and something to do on the side line.

I prefer "the guy game" on the xBox. :-) but it does distract.

Yes organizing a home game is a pain in the ass