Dealing with Maniacs at the Poker Table
A MANIAC ON THE LOOSE
by: Lou Krieger©
Many of your letters have recently been concerned with overly aggressive
players: "How should I play," I'm frequently asked, "when
there's a maniac at the table?" Good question. A maniac at
the table really does affect your choice of starting hands, as well
as other strategic decisions during the play of a hand. Maniacs
love running over their opponents. After all, when someone constantly
raises, or makes it three-bets by reraising every chance he gets,
it can be very disconcerting - and often intimidating.
Does he have a hand, or is he bluffing? It's hard to tell. When
someone constantly raises, you know he can't have the goods all
the time - but how do you know when?
Let's describe the characteristics of a typical maniac. If you
bet, he'll raise - even when he doesn't have a hand to support his
action. If you check, he'll bet. He, on the other hand, seldom checks,
unless he is in early position, really has the goods, and is trying
to trap a number of opponents by checkraising.
When someone bets, the maniac usually raises. If you reraise, he
is more likely to make it four bets than give you credit for a big
hand and simply call. He personifies an action player - albeit one
who consistently shows too much speed by deliberately overvaluing
and overplaying his hand. He wants to get as much money in the pot
as often as possible, and frequently does. Maniacs are ego driven.
Betting, raising, or reraising is the measure of a maniac's manhood;
he'd rather bully you out of a pot than beat you in a showdown.
Maniacs also self-destruct and go broke quite regularly, but not
before taking a number of other players down with them.
With a maniac at your table, you need to be aware of the changes
his presence invariably brings. Because of his propensity for raising
and reraising, more of your chips will be at risk. Lose, and you're
likely to lose more than you otherwise would. Wins are also likely
to be bigger. If you are a winning player, a maniac in your game
will usually increase your average winnings in the long run. While
it is likely to be a measurable increase, it probably won't be off
the charts. On the other hand, there will be a dramatic increase
in the fluctuations you can expect on an hourly basis. In the short
run, you are susceptible to large swings, since you'll be putting
more chips at risk almost every time you play a hand. If you are
on a limited bankroll, or have a hard time adapting to this kind
of volatility, you might want to avoid games with a maniac in them.
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Starting hands change in value when there's a maniac in the hand.
When you figure to be raised, you can't play hands like 9-8 suited.
Suited connectors do best in unraised, multiway pots, when you're
trying to get in cheaply in hopes that you'll flop a big hand against
a relatively large number of opponents - who, presumably, will pay
you off if you're lucky enough to flop a big hand that holds up.
The only time you can play smaller, suited connectors against a
maniac is from late position, the maniac has already acted and hasn't
raised, and you figure to have a good chance to see the flop for
one bet against a relatively large number of opponents.
You'll find yourself passing on a lot of the hands you'd usually
play in a less frenetic game, and it can be frustrating. Nevertheless,
you don't want to commit two bets on hands that are relative longshots
- particularly when the fear of a raise from the maniac will constrict
the number of opponents you'd otherwise expect.
Pairs and big cards go up in value. If you're holding 9-9, and
the maniac raises before you act, you must reraise, in order to
constrict the number of opponents you'll play against. If you're
lucky, you'll find yourself heads-up with the maniac. When you're
heads-up against an opponent who raises on anything - or nothing
- you are favored when you hold a pair. Sure, there'll be times
when the maniac really has a big hand, but there'll be many more
times when you'll find that he raised with absolutely nothing. That's
when you'll capture the pot.
If you hold a hand like A-K or A-Q, you can also reraise and try
to get heads up against the maniac. If you flop a pair, you figure
to have the best hand. That's not the problem. The problem is what
happens when the flop is three rags. If you're holding A-Q and the
flop is 8-6-3, what should you do when the maniac bets? Since he
frequently raises on anything, he's just as likely to have caught
a pair - or even flopped a set - than he is to have missed the flop
entirely with a hand like J-9.
You can't be certain. Since the maniac may well reraise if you
try to define your own hand by raising, you're in a guessing situation.
These are hands where you might decide to gamble with him, or employ
a strategy of sometimes releasing your hand when the flop doesn't
fit, and sometimes hanging in there - so he knows he can't run you
off the pot every time you raise and catch a ragged flop. It's a
judgment call - and not an easy one at that. Sometimes you have
to call, or bluff-raise - even though you are an underdog to capture
the pot, simply because you are giving up too much of an edge if
you allow him bet and take the pot every time you're heads-up and
the flop is unfavorable to you.
If you're lucky, you'll catch enough flops with your bigger hands
so that you will be able to check and call on the flop, and try
for a checkraise on the turn or river. This might slow down the
maniac a bit, since he should eventually learn that a check on your
part doesn't always imply weakness. There are, however, many maniacs
who just ignore these subtler features of the game. They prefer
wielding a bludgeon to a rapier. When you're playing against a maniac
of this magnitude, forget all about subtlety. It won't work. You'll
need to make some big hands, have him do your betting for you and
build the pot -which, of course, he'll gladly do - and then snap
him off with a checkraise that he'll invariably call.
Seat selection is critical when playing against a maniac. Always
position yourself to his left. Since the maniac will raise on weak
hands as well as his better ones, you want to be in position to
reraise whenever you have a strong hand. Whenever you are able to
make it three bets before the flop, you stand a good chance of playing
heads-up against the manic. Since you will usually be reraising
on hands that are significantly stronger than those he raises with,
you now hold the advantage throughout the play of the hand. In addition,
other opponents may recognize that you're a very aggressive, though
highly selective player. Your actions will demonstrate that you
have no fear of the maniac. Although your opponents will seldom
admit it, many of them are apprehensive whenever a maniac joins
their game. Since you will only reraise before the flop with hands
that have some intrinsic value, other opponents will respect your
raises - regardless of whether or not the maniac is active in the
hand. This, of course, provides excellent support for an occasional
bluff, particularly on those occasions when you're involved in a
hand with fairly tight, weak, or timid players. Remember, they've
watched you slug it out with the maniac, and show down a real hand
whenever you're called.
While maniacs can raise your stress level and blood pressure, remember
this: They're ultimately no stronger than the cards they hold. Frequently
they're a lot weaker. As long as you position yourself to act after
the maniac, and can withstand the highly volatile nature of the
game, you'll be favored in the long run. After all, a maniac's worst
enemy is himself. They're aggressive all right, but seldom selective.
They know one tune, and one tune only - although they play it incessantly,
wielding it over their opponents like a whip. But their only strength
is also their greatest weakness, and when you learn to deflect their
one-note strategy and use it to your advantage, the sound of their
whipsong can also destroy them.
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