AA vs. 99
I think you might have been influenced by your results here, although we don't know how you got busted. AA is a very different hand from 99. 99 is a great hand to go in on if you need to steal the blinds, as if called by two overcards you are still a favorite and the chances of one of the remaining three players having an overpair (TT+) are pretty small. But it isn't such a good idea if you just want to stay alive, as it has a 45% chance of busting vs. two overcards (which the maniac could have). Now, if you fold 99, and the smallest stack folds, within the next hand or two he is going to be forced in and probably play against the best of the three other hands, and probably bust. And if he doesn't, there are still two relatively small stacks that you are twice the size of, and you can fold for a while and hope that the maniac busts one of them first.
Now, with AA, I'd go all in if I *knew* the maniac would call. If I didn't, I might raise to 600 and try to induce some more action.
Technically, btw, I think it is incorrect to say if you don't play AA *here* you won't play anything. Obviously, if positions were rearranged and the two small stacks had both gone all in and you were the small blind, it might well make sense to go in over the top of them with AA, as it's unlikely you'd get anything less than 3rd even if the big stack called. Being UTG is more perilous, because of the chance you get matched up evenly against the big stack.
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