Playing vs Maniacs SH

[wackjob]

I found myself last night playing against 3 average/poor players a 1 maniac at a 5/10 5max table. Maniac was constantly capping preflop and on every street with A3o, 104s, etc. He was so out of control most of the other players at the table were calling him down with weak aces to the river every hand.

Thus, I tightened up my play, and started capping against this guy SH very stron hands(AJ or better). My main concern is how I am playing postflop against such a maniac. With 1-2 other players seeing almost every flop and calling to the river most of the time, getting a read is near impossible. Sometimes they'd show A high, other times bottom pair, other times 2-pair. Due to maniacs betting and capping everything, however, no one else was betting/raising.

I ended up playing strong hands that hit extremely agressively, and playing big Aces with agression and then into call down mode if maniac raised. I don't have an example to post, but for general reference, what is a good line? Obviously I don't want to leave this table, this guy was spewing 100's of dollars an hour.

[Michael Davis]

"I ended up playing strong hands that hit extremely agressively, and playing big Aces with agression and then into call down mode if maniac raised."

This is right.

-Michael

[sy_or_bust]

You've got the idea. I just wanted to point out that tables like that aren't always the best ones to sit at. Sure the maniac is spewing chips out of control, but a lot of times you'll find yourself in a huge multiway pot with a marginal hand like top pair, and as you said there is no way to read your opponents' hands. Sometimes this is very profitable, but most of the time you'll make plenty of expensive mistakes.

[helpmeout]

Call down HU with A high or a weak pair(2s-6s).

With middle pair you want to put in a bet or a raise I calldown if he raises the turn.

TP I cap the flop and put in 3bets on the turn depending on the board.

Anything close to the nuts you cap every street.

What you dont want to do is try to bluff, dont go crazy with AK type hands unimproved either. I think that is where a lot of people lose money to maniacs, they cap the flop with AK and get shown down bottom pair.