Isolating a maniac with A5o

[ElSapo]

Party 2/4, and there's a maniac on the loose. Raises pre-flop every time, will cap with any pair. He's awesome. Down about 50 BB in an hour, and he keeps on rebuying.

He's in the BB in this hand, and it's folded to me in the CO with A5o. I raise. The button thinks and folds, the SB calls and maniac three-bets. I call, SB calls.

Flop is AA2, two hearts. SB checks, maniac bets, I call, looking to raise the turn. Now SB comes alive and raises, maniac calls and I three-bet. SB thinks and thinks and folds, maniac calls.

Turn blanks. Maniac bets, I raise, he three-bets, I cap.

River a king, he bets and now I start to wonder if I have kicker problems. I call.

As I finish writing this, he's down to $12 and folded pre-flop. The party may be over, but what does everyone think of the isolation with A5o?

[GuyOnTilt]

I'm looking at your post, and I don't see you making an isolation play anywhere in there...You're given the opportunity twice and don't take it. Am I missing something?

[ElSapo]

You mean cap pre-flop to loose the SB and then raise the flop? My thinking was that I was likely far ahead on the flop and to slowplay. The no cap pre-flop, I think you're right. Maybe I should raise the flop as well, but once I flop trips it seems big enough against a maniac and another player to slow down and try and extract more.

[GuyOnTilt]

I'm not questioning how you played the hand, I'm just wondering what you meant when you asked, "...what does everyone think of the isolation with A5o?" Your title, "Isolating a maniac with A5o," doesn't appear to have much to do with the actual hand.

About the hand, if you say he's a maniac who will cap every street with any piece of the board, I think you should raise the flop and give him a chance to play back at you. Because of your desciption of him, I think you should initiate a raising war on the river as well. Against a normal opponent this would obviously be ill-advised, but if he's as crazy as you say he is, I think raising the river is fine.

[ElSapo]

By the title, I mean the pre-flop action. Raise to eliminate the button and SB, frankly looking to showdown ace high if it comes to that. It isn't a steal, b/c I know he's going to -at least- call. He was that crazy.

[ElSapo]

I think my mistake was slowing down on the river. I called, beginning to wonder if I'd run into a hand. I called, he showed 66, my hand is good.