No responses in the MLHE forum so I'll try here. Structure question

[Carmine]

So I get invited to a weekly home game a few weeks ago. Don't know much about players or the game, but I figure what the hey. Be nice to have a local game full of fish when I don't feel like making the two hour haul to AC. I heard it was SS but I figure it would be fun to donk around in.

So I sit in the game and the guys give me the heads up.
Preflop/Flop/Turn play exactly like a LHE 2/4 structure.
$1/$2 blinds etc. etc. However on the river the betting jumps up to a max bet of $25 which can be raised and re-raised I would assume til all-in (forgot to ask about any cap actually).

Now I'm curious about the best style for this structure. Are we playing loose or tight preflop. I'm assuming loose as there are these huge implied odds on the river. My other thought is that this structure removes the skill factor from the game. How do you cause your opponent to make TOP mistakes? There seems no way to manipulate the odds to make it incorrect for them to get to the river with any draw.

Do the big pair hands go down in value and suited connectors go up. Are we correct to call raises in position with those connectors and small PP. I don't think stack sizes matter too much unless we have a really short stacked player in which we obviously don't have additional implied odds.
I just started thinking about this today actually so I haven't put any math to the situation yet. See what you guys have to say.

[SplawnDarts]

Assuming the locals call river value bets & raises, i believe you're going to be farming for pat hands. So suited aces, pairs, and suited connectors go up in value. More like a NL starting hand strategy.

I agree skill is minimized. Since drawing is so good, YOU want to be the one drawing and hit "magic" hands like higher flushes, and straights that also make them two pair or the ass end of the straight.

I wouldn't loosen up too much except with the hands listed above. I don't think Q8o is going to do you much good.

If people start folding the river a lot, then bluffing might become a legitimate strategy.

[creedofhubris]

This is actually pretty cool because you can put serious pressure on an opponent with a river bomb. Depends how many people are in the average pot and how big the pot is before he river. The $25 might be a PSB if you've got 2- or 3-way action.

Basically all the skill is going to be in gauging bluff probabilities on the river.

[jogsxyz]

This structure is close to the way I believe hold'em should be played. Playing tight will no longer be sufficient for winning.
On the river use the results of the toy games for bluffing/calling frequencies.
Beating this game will be about quickly learning the tendencies of the other players in the game.