Confrontations with a manic...

[chesspain]

Party .5/1 game...in both hands I had AQ, and went up against a maniac sitting two seats to my right who raised at least 50% of his hands preflop, sometimes showing down hands with garbage like single paint/rag offsuit.

First hand:

I raise with A /images/graemlins/club.gif Q /images/graemlins/club.gif UTG, folded to MP who calls, folded to CO who calls, folded to Maniac in SB who raises, folded to me who reraises, MP and CO call.

7 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif

Maniac bets, I raise, MP coldcalls, CO folds, Maniac reraises, I cap, MP coldcalls again, Maniac calls.

[7 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif] J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Maniac bets, and given both MP's double coldcall on the flop and the fact that I still have squat, I fold...



Second Hand:

This time, in a seven-handed game, I'm dealt A /images/graemlins/heart.gif Q /images/graemlins/spade.gif in the CO...

UTG folds, Maniac raises in UTG+1, MP calls, I reraise, folded back to Maniac who caps, MP coldcalls two, I call.

5 /images/graemlins/club.gif 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Maniac bets, MP calls, I raise, Maniac reraises, MP folds, I cap, Maniac calls...

[5 /images/graemlins/club.gif 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif] K /images/graemlins/heart.gif

Maniac bets, I call

[5 /images/graemlins/club.gif 2 /images/graemlins/spade.gif J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif K /images/graemlins/heart.gif] J /images/graemlins/spade.gif

Maniac bets, I call


Rate my play...results to follow.

[Bob S.]

Exactly who is the maniac here??? No offense but you continue to put in multiple bets here with overcards and backdoor draws even in the face of people behind you cold calling your raises in the first hand. I have no idea where u thought capping might take the hand. In the second hand I don't like your preflop 3bet simply because the maniac has already been called by another player. There is a good chance your hand is best on the flop and knowing the maniac will 3 bet on the flop just might force out the other player. Now the only thing to worry about is him having a pair...which could be anything from AA to 27 off.

Bob S.

[Dylan Wade]

In the first hand, you must ask yourself on the turn what you think he has. He could have a set of 7's, a set of 2's or the ultimate insult, he flopped a full house ;D. To me it seems you think he has nothing, and I'd be inclined to agree; but that's based entirely on your assesment of him as a maniac.

I think there is a good chance your overcards are clean outs, and you do have pot odds to call that bet on the turn. Go for it. ;D

Overall, I think you're not taking advantage of having a maniac in the room. You're getting agressive back at him when you are drawing thin- and there's about 0% chance you're going to put him off his hand. You want to pump him for all he's worth when you HAVE a hand, not when you're drawing thin /images/graemlins/laugh.gif When you're head to head with a maniac make sure you realise that you can suck out (call em down with thin odds) on them a lot more (not always) since your implied odds are enormus.

[chesspain]

In hand one:

MP had T /images/graemlins/club.gif T /images/graemlins/spade.gif
Maniac had A /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif


In hand two:

Maniac capped PF and three-bet the flop with K /images/graemlins/club.gif 8 /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[Homer]

Hand 1 - Don't cap the flop. MP already called two cold, he will certainly call two more. Also, your turn fold is atrocious. You're getting 15:1 and could very well have 6 outs (6.6:1). Some simple hand reading will tell you that MP most likely isn't taking up any of your outs. The board is 727r and MP called two cold on the flop twice. Most players won't do this with overcards. It's most likely a scared pocket pair. So, the Jack on the turn probably didn't hit MP. Also, the maniac could have anything. Even if you're behind half the time, you still have a call, as you are getting a huge overlay.

Hand 2 - Don't cap the flop. It's heads-up, go into call down mode. What is your rationale behind capping? Do you expect the maniac to check to you on the turn and give you a free card? If so, he's not really a maniac.

-- Homer

[Louie Landale]

Two problems I see.

[1] If he's raising half the time he's probably calling most of the rest. If so, the average quality of his show-down hands is going to be weak. No kidding, he's going to show down paint-rag often.

[2] You seem to be trying to out maniac him. You're thinking: If I raise one more time he's GOT to stop. No, he doesn't.

[3] There is a difference between a raise-em-up maniac PF and one that keeps raising later. Watch is post flop raising standards carefully.

OK, 3 problems.

- Louie

[rkiray]

First hand : Given that MP has already called 2 cold I think I'd just call the 3 bet on the flop. But I know in the heat of battle I sometimes get caugth up in a war with a maniac and may have easily capped this.

Hand 2, in general I like it but I'd go into the call down mode one bet earlier (I would not cap the flop). Of course I have trouble playing against maniacs so this may not be the best advice. But I've seem to do better against them heads up when I let them do most of the betting.