1k+ pot, terrible river card, and a maniac.

[all_aces]

I'll stop posting hands soon for a while don't worry. I tend to post a few at a time and then none for a month or so.

So, this hand was interesting. 25-50 5-person table. UTG is the star of this show, he's a maniac. And even more so in the past 10 minutes because he's lost a few big pots, mostly to the other star, SB. It's been the SB and UTG show lately. I am right between them with 88 in the BB.

UTG (maniac) raises, MP calls, button folds, SB (maniac's nemesis) re-raises. So it's 3 bets to me, but I'm already in for one. Still, $75 for 88. I'd usually 3-bet this myself if it's heads-up, but I'd usually fold this if it's 3 bets to me, assuming there's a good chance I'm a 4:1 dog against an overpair. However, given the little war that's been happening, I figure SB's 3-bet is probably personal, so I call. So do UTG and MP. 4 of us to the flop for 3 bets each:

Ad8c3s. SB bets, I call, UTG raises, MP calls 2 cold, and UTG and me just call. I like the fact that the aggressor in this hand is to my immediate left. 4 of us to the turn:

2h [Ad8c3s]. SB and I check, UTG bets, MP and SB call, and I raise. UTG calls, and both MP and SB fold. Heads-up to the river:

5s [2hAd8c3s]. I bet, UTG the maniac raises. There is over 1k in the pot now. Who 3-bets? Scroll down for the results, but if you'd like to reply to this before reading them, so much the better!





























I 3-bet him. He called, and I won. I don't know what he had. I put him, in order of likeliness, on 33, A8, A5, or A2. His smooth call of my checkraise on the turn makes me think he wanted the other 2 to stick around, so he could save the big raise for the river, which he did. So he must have hit the board pretty hard. Thought I'd share it with you, hope you enjoyed it and any comments/criticisms are very welcome.

Regards,
all_aces

[Ulysses]

I'd 3-bet here every single time. I don't understand why you think this river card is terrible nor why you think the decision to 3-bet or not is even close.

[all_aces]

Hey Ulysses,

This particular brand of maniac shows down hands with a 4 in them more often than one would think. As I'm sure you noticed, any 4 fills the straight. I show big strength on the turn, and he merely calls. Then when the 4-straight hits on the river, he raises me. He could have, in order of likeliness in the worst-case scenario: A4, 45, 44 or hell even 46. He has played gutshot draws this aggressively in the past, trying to steal it.

So that's why I gave it some thought. Against a tilting player, a 4 isn't that unlikely. And with the pot as big as it was, he'd almost have odds to call it.

But, I'm with you. Easy 3-bet, so I 3-bet.

Regards,
all_aces

[Ulysses]

I understand your point and have played with many guys like this before. I agree you'll see a 4 way more times than a sane player would have one under these circumstances.

However, this guy raised pre-flop. He raised the Ace-high flop. He bet the turn. More times than not, he won't have a 4.

Yes, the hands you listed are possible. But if so, just as possible as A4, 45, 44 or 46 are A5, 35, 55, 25, which all improve on the river. And add to that all of the other hands (ie: any Ace or other random two pair or smaller set) that a maniac could raise with (these guys love a stop-and-go when they think they are best) and as you obviously agree (I'm mainly writing this for the benefit of other readers) it's an easy, easy 3-bet.

[stripsqueez]

3 bet - looks simple to me

stripsqueez - chickenhawk

[lefty rosen]

You never went to the hand history to figure out what the crack head had? I always do this to remember what stupid hands he likes to quad to the river........