Re: Nano-limit Maniacs
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So when a maniac will raise with any two cards, it is correct to play back at him with ALMOST any two cards.
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You seem to understand what to do, judging by the rest of your post, but this quote needs some attention. You still need to play solid hands against a maniac. You can't play "almost any two", it becomes a crapshoot and you're just as likely to blow off your stack to him as he is to you (you have in effect also become a maniac). Additionally, unless you isolate and get it HU, you do still have to worry about the other players in the hand who may beat you.
The play you suggested sounds fine, but I have a few comments about small pairs. I fold small pairs (66 - 22) against a maniac.
The reason I fold small pairs is I want to limit my variance. If I go nuts with 22 just because he's a maniac, well, it's a crapshoot as to who is actually going to lose money on the hand. I'm either a VERY slight favourite or a huge underdog to a better pocket pair. This sort of situation is pointless and will make your variance jump hugely for only a very tiny long term profit. Calling 2 bets preflop with these hands only to fold the flop most of the time is a sure fire way to lose money as well, even if you allow for generous implied set odds (your set won't always win). If you're going to play your pair against him, you have to commit to it and take it all the way from the start, set or not. Since this is basically a crapshoot, I avoid it.
However, 77 and better are certainly good to play. You have a lot more equity with the medium pairs because they will frequently be higher than one or even both of your maniacs hole cards, which cripples his ability to pair up and beat you. Definitely play these and raise with them.
That's just my take on it anyway. I'm interested to hear other comments about the pairs as well.
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