The Home Game strikes again

Nine participants this time around, and the fireworks started right out of the gate.  On the very first hand (25/50) I'm in the cutoff w/ Jh9h.  I limp along with about 2/3 of the table, and we see a 6 4 3 rainbow flop.  It checks all around.  The turn is a 9 giving me TP.  It's min-bet in front of me and I call.  River is a J and I have top 2.  BB leads out for 50, I make it 250, and he comes over the top for 500.  Could he have JJ?  J9 even?  Nope, he had 25 for the flopped straight that he slow played.  Yikes. 

I win a couple of hands thereafter including one where I turned broadway on a board with a flush draw, and then the board paired on the river.  Didn't bet out here though I probably should have, but honestly with as many people involved in the hand as there were, I was somewhat fortunate this held up.  I also had KK in one of the blinds, made a healthy raise after the usual go-around of half the table limping in, then dodged a bullet when I fired out on an all-heart flop (I didn't have Kh) and got everyone to fold. 

So as I plodded along here, trying to pick my spots, I picked up a couple of interesting hands.  First, I get AKo late, raise it up and get a couple of callers.  Flop is 9-high and it's checked to me.  I believe I checked it or made a 1/2 pot bet, not sure, but I got called by a guy w/ T9 and it held up for him as we checked it to the river.  I also folded to a massive check-raise from the same player when I flopped top pair on a 8x 9s Qs board.  I figured him for a set.  Turns out he had Ts Js and turned the 8s for the straight flush. 

Once we got to six-handed, I raised EP with A9 and got a caller.  The flop was AQJ and I fired about 2/3 pot to see where I was at.  I'm reraised by a loose guy from my 800 bet to his 2200 bet.  I correctly put him on QJ (as he told me Sunday AM) and folded.  As we always do, we flip over the turn and river cards, and I'd have rivered the A to take this one.  I also folded a flopped OESD to his big raise and would've turned that one.  These two hands, plus the loss w/ AK above, have whittled my stack down as the blinds are hitting 300/600. 

Now I'm dealt 99 but see a raise from LAG to my right.  I go into the tank and fold, which turned out to be fortuitous because two to my left had AA and shoved on an all rag flop, getting the initial raiser with TT to fold.

Finally, when the blinds hit 500/1000 (i.e. the lottery portion of our game), I shoved with 33, got instacalled by TT and that was that. 

Here's one interesting hand from the night where I was not involved.  One guy got it all-in on the turn with an OESD and a flush draw (5-high as I recall).  Still he had 15 outs going to the river against two pair.  He rivered the straight and won a big pot.  Everyone and I mean EVERYONE in the room said this was a good play.  HUH? 

I have two fundamental strategies to this game.  One - play the opposite of the table.  It's well known that it's a game of loose calling stations.  I try to play tight aggressive.  And it's not working.  Two - I do not try to bluff said calling stations because we all know what happens there.  So what's left for me?  Hit hands.  Hard.  Or get my chips in behind and try to suckout.  Immensely frustrating. 

As was my return to the golf course yesterday.  I've lost the feeling I had at the lesson and it's going to take some work to get it back, me thinks.  I didn't find it at the range today.