Tilt or tact

[Warren Whitmore]

My brain did a split on me. I would like to know which way (if any) was the right way to play this hand. The game is 10:20 No limit, 5 player maixmum.
Seat one: Me
Seat Two: Mainiac
Seat Three: Calling station
Seat Four: Calling station
Seat five: Stone Killer.

I am under the gun with J8 Diamonds.

I make it $60.
Mainiac makes it $100.
everyone between us folds.

Tilt version: (What actually happened)
I Called. thinking: This guy is reraising me with everything to isolate me. Then if a A or K dosent flop he bluffs me off of the pot. I am seeing the river no matter what happens.

Flop Jc 7s 2h

I bet $100 (into $210 pot)

Mainiac makes it $5000 and goes all in.

I call and win a $10210 pot.

Tact: What I would normally do

raise to $60
Mainiac reraise to $100
Thinking J8 is not a decent heads up hand. Fold

The end

[shermn27]

Am I the only one thinking "I don't get it?"

[krimson]

None of the above. I would not play J8d UTG.

[Grisgra]

I suck at NL, but for what it's worth . . .

First, good job with the crappy seat selection.

Second, don't play J8s UTG. Who do you think you are, Danny N? (Though I guess since it's 5-handed, if you think yer good postflop . . . then why not?)

Third, if he's such a nutty maniac then of course you need to call his preflop raise. I don't know that I'd have called his flop all-in in your position, but it was probably good. Gist is that if this guy is willing to bet 25x pot with random crap, then if you flop two pair/trips/whatever, you can break him fairly easily. So of course I'd call his tiny preflop raise with J8s.

[coffeecrazy1]

Ugh.

First...I don't think J8 is a bad HU hand, especially against a maniac. THAT SAID, even maniacs catch hands sometimes, and you failed to mention if he was a good maniac or a donk maniac. A donk maniac = good play. A good maniac = you lose all your chips, because he's playing against the table image he is aware he projects. I would be very hard-pressed to call $10K, even with TP, because I would worry about overpairs, a flopped set, or, kicker problems...especially without backdoor flush potential. Maybe I'm too weak-tight, but I let it go here.

But...then again...$5k into a $210 pot screams of donkish overplay of AK or something. I guess I just wouldn't expect such a bad play at the limit you are at...but what do I know? Bottom line: it worked out...enjoy stacking your chips.

[speirs]

[ QUOTE ]
good job with the crappy seat selection.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Warren Whitmore]

Answers to questions / statements so far.

(1) "Crappy seat selection" I agree compleatly, I should have mentioned that this was played online. Changing seats online is both extreamly important and exptreamly difficult. If I had given up that seat and gone back on the waiting list the most probable situation would be that 20 minutes later I would be invited back into the game with the same seat. That having been said you are right. I would have been better off to give the game a pass despite its other good characteristics and looked for something better.

(2) Is he a good mainiac or a donk mainiac. Here is a typical example played about ten hands previous to the one voted on.

He is on button. Player under the gun folds, I make it $60 with QT spades, He makes it $300 on the button. Heads up pot = $615.

Flop = Qh Tc 3s

I bet the pot, he called $615. Pot = $1845

Turn = 4 Diamonds

I bet $500, he calls Pot = $2845

River 3 hearts.

I check he bets $500, I raise to $1000, he calls. Pot = $4845.

He shows down J3 off suit to win the pot.

In that sense he is a donk.

He is a good mainiac however in the sense that every time I raised (which was every hand I played 5 handed) he reraised a lot. If I folded he won. If I called he knew I had AK AA KK QQ JJ TT. Then if an ace or a king dident flop he would just pop it a grand and take it. This simple stratagy was enough to bleed me dry which was why I was forced to start calling him down.

(3) His hand at the show down on the one we voted on was 9 3 off suit. He had gone all in with a 9 high. If I was not on tilt he would have won that hand as well.

[The TriColor]

On the example hand why would u bet only 500 on the turn with top 2? He called the 615 I hardly think the 4 is a scare card at this point. If nothing else over bet to push him off. If he's not going anywhere your at least getting your money in with the best of it.

[Warren Whitmore]

Good point. I was thinking in the future I would do just that. I only have 240 hours logged at no limit and am still making a lot of errors.