AJs - help of the maniac

#1 05-09-2005, 11:00 AM

Reads: MP2 was pretty unknown to me at that point, a bit on the loose side.
CO was the action-player at the table. He loved to reraise preflop with nothing and keep going on pretty much all streets. I saw him trying to bluff KK out with 92o. He also 3-betted a ragged flop when I had AA but folded to a turn raise. He wasnt exactly a maniac as he didnt play like this every hand but I saw him pull a play like that at least 5 times in 40 hands.

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (9 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
3 folds, MP2 raises, Hero calls, CO 3-bets, 3 folds, MP2 calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (10.40 SB) K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (3 players)
MP2 bets, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, MP2 folds, Hero calls.

Turn: (7.70 BB) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets, Hero raises, CO 3-bets, Hero caps, CO calls.

River: (15.70 BB) 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero bets, CO calls.

Final Pot: 17.70 BB

Usually I guess I would have reraised preflop but I figured calling would be better to get the maniac and some other players in as my hand also plays well multiway and the CO could build a nice pot for me when i hit.

I think the flop is the questionable part of my play, I didnt respect the bet of MP2 and thought I could try to get it headsup and maximize my winchance.
With a blank on turn and river I would have called it down with Ace-high.

numeri · #2 05-09-2005, 11:05 AM

Against an unknown, the pre-flop call is questionable at best. Also, against an unknown, why don't you respect the flop bet? And why would you call down with A-high? That makes no sense.

jrz1972 · #3 05-09-2005, 11:11 AM

1. When you spot a maniac to your immediate left, strongly consider leaving the table. This is not a good situation to be in.

2. If you know the maniac does a lot of raising PF with nothing, why are you coldcalling with AJs? The coldcall would be okay if you knew you weren't getting three-bet, but the risk of having to chip in one or two more bets is very high here.

3. Raising the flop is very poor for the same reason. Do not try to run a maniac out of the pot, especially when OOP.

Turn and river are fine of course.

@bsolute_luck · #4 05-09-2005, 11:14 AM

flop: i don't know what you're doing raising this. you've got ~3 outs at best for your straight. since i wouldn't have bet out on the flop, i probably would have folded 2 bets back to me.

and i don't know what you're trying to do c/r this turn. since you're in this far, just call.

river: well if you're confident on your read, i'd check/call.

bozlax · #5 05-09-2005, 11:17 AM

I'm ok with your preflop play, especially since you have a pretty strong read that CO is going to raise. Let your semi-maniac drive, hoping to keep others in trying to bust him, until your hand is made.

That said, what the hell was the flop? Based on your read of CO you'd call down against just him with ace-high, fine, but "I didn't respect MP2's bet" when your only read was "unknown...a bit on the loose side" seems to just be a justification for spewing chips in a hand you wind up winning. Being aggro to get it HU is fine, but if that's your justification you have to be pretty certain that CO is going to 3-bet, because you've got not much in this two-suit-two-broadway flop, and MP2 did raise it PF.

The rest is standard.

This is a good hand to make a note of for your session, too, because unless CO or MP2 leave the table it could come up a lot for you. "Trapped" between an apparent LAG and an apparent maniac, you can play them off each other for a lot of bets.

MrWookie47 · #6 05-09-2005, 11:18 AM

You do see that OP lucksacked his way into a straight on the turn, didn't you?

bozlax · #7 05-09-2005, 11:20 AM

[ QUOTE ]
and i don't know what you're trying to do c/r this turn. since you're in this far, just call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. Nut straights are dicey propositions, and you need to slow-play until a blank falls on the river.

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Edit: $**t, Wook beat me to it.

jrz1972 · #8 05-09-2005, 11:22 AM

Hero has the nuts on the turn and river.

@bsolute_luck · #9 05-09-2005, 11:23 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Hero has the nuts on the turn and river.

[/ QUOTE ]

DAMN MISREAD [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] yup sorry 'bout that. raise away!

#10 05-09-2005, 11:29 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Against an unknown, the pre-flop call is questionable at best. Also, against an unknown, why don't you respect the flop bet? And why would you call down with A-high? That makes no sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, maybe reraising would have been better. I already said I wanted to build a huge pot with a hand that plays well multiway (players coldcalling and calling 1 bet seemed to be the same for some players there, facing 3 bets is another story though)I guess CO would have capped it right away then.

Concerning the flop-bet: How did it look for MP2? He surely noticed that CO didnt deserve much credit at all for his reraise (because of his bluffs, he also reraised the 92o earlier) and I underplayed my hand by only calling the raises. So I thought he would just autobet on the flop as in his eyes he probably held the best hand preflop regardless of the reraise and the pot was big so he could take a shot at it.

I would have called down with A-high because he reraised with 92o earlier and even raised the river when he had nothing (not even a pair). He was a bluffer and the pot was too big, folding the best hand a catastrophe!