Fighting the Bully

[wacki]

I just got done with a NL holdem game with a man that thinks Poker should always be played at stakes high enough to make the other man sweat. His style, of course was loose, and very aggressive. I noticed him going in on a large frequency of hands. About 1 out of 3 all-ins he was getting called, and of those hands he showed monsters/good/trash hands about 33/33/33.

By good hands I mean top pair, or second top pair by the time the river showed. Trash hands were bottom pair, ace high, etc.

Anyway, with this kind of frequency, what are the guidelines for calling?

One hand, I had A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], and preflop betting was heavy and I went one on one with the bully.

The flop landed A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], I checked (because he folded everytime I didn't check at first. He bet into me I raised, he re-raise.... he ended up betting 50% of his stack.

The turn landed Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] making a 10 the pure nuts at this point. I checked again, he bet into me I called.

The river landed 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Meaning there were 4 10's that could kill me, and now a 3 flush on board. He went all in.

I called, he showed a pair of 3's,(93o in the hole) bunk hand.

I was lucky, because this guy had alot of tells, and I knew he was bluffing. But I am wondering, if I couldn't read him, does his frequency of all-ins warrant a call with so many cards out there that could beat me? If I couldn't of read him, should I of folded?

Character Profile:
He knew I knew he was a loose player. Everyone was saying that they should fold if I bet, because I always had a hand (hence the checking). The bully acted like I was weak, because he thought I was folding way to much. He was saying this, even though he bought several times last night and I multiplied my money by 6.

[d'Amphoux]

Being one that likes to play aggressively, but also loving it when I approach my table and see and my favorite bully-fish sitting there, my best tip is to give him what he wants, timid friendly players. Wait it out and play monster hands heads-up with him. But don't be so obvious he labels you as a timid rock. Play a couple cheap ones with him and let him see you were inferior. This will trigger his chemistry like a light switch and he will wait to pounce again. Next time though, be loaded for the kill.

[muzungu]

Wacki-

Dunno how big the stacks were relative to the blind sizes, but with the raising, reraising, etc. on the flop, why didn't the $ get all-in there? Dunno who finally called, but if it was you (sounds like it was), why didn't you just push all-in? If he folds, he would have been be getting 3:1 on the call, and if he has any sort of hand/draw you're happy to take it down. Plus, with all that raising/reraising, he'll probably call, and you have every reason to think you're a favorite, so push in while you are ahead.

Also: if "preflop betting was heavy", AJo isn't the best hand in the world, especially if someone else comes to life and bets. This can be a big problem playing with maniacs: maniac bets big with garbage, you call big with a good hand, and third player reraises with a monster, taking his money and yours.

Also: everyone glorifies taking down the maniac, but remember that your objective is to make $, not beat him mano a mano. Sometimes its just as profitable to take $ from the people who are bending over backwards trying to tangle with the maniac (as in the above example).

-muz

[wacki]

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Wacki-

Dunno how big the stacks were relative to the blind sizes, but with the raising, reraising, etc. on the flop, why didn't the $ get all-in there?

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I thought only big slick and pocket pairs were worth going all in pre-flop.

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Dunno who finally called, but if it was you (sounds like it was), why didn't you just push all-in?

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I did push all in on fifth street, but only after he did.
I checked to him, in retrospect, I think that might be a mistake, but he would of called me if he had me had so much as top pair. He would never fold a flush, (even if there is a four flush on board and he had a 2 of the matching suit), and I figured I would win more money by checking. And only loose all my money, or loose the all in if he folded a weaker hand.


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If he folds, he would have been be getting 3:1 on the call, and if he has any sort of hand/draw you're happy to take it down. Plus, with all that raising/reraising, he'll probably call, and you have every reason to think you're a favorite, so push in while you are ahead.

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How are you getting the 3:1 favorite? After the flop? Also, at what hand place should I of gone all in?


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Also: if "preflop betting was heavy", AJo isn't the best hand in the world, especially if someone else comes to life and bets. This can be a big problem playing with maniacs: maniac bets big with garbage, you call big with a good hand, and third player reraises with a monster, taking his money and yours.

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Good point, I'll be more carefull taking the bully on. I played AJo because he was raising 20x the big blind (about 10% of his stack at this point) about 20% of the time. He did not have as much as I did at this point, but he had atleast 4x the amount of everyone else. This is what I meant by heavy preflop betting. (I should of been more clear)

I thought AJo warranted a call in this situation. Should I of gone all in? Or should I see the flop in this situation and out play him on the flop?

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Also: everyone glorifies taking down the maniac, but remember that your objective is to make $, not beat him mano a mano. Sometimes its just as profitable to take $ from the people who are bending over backwards trying to tangle with the maniac (as in the above example).

-muz

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Awesome Idea! Do you prefer sitting to the right or the left of the maniac?

[george w of poker]

i think sitting to the right of a maniac is best because he will bet your hands for you and if you get into a multiway pot with a monster you can trap other people trying to isolate the maniac with only decent hands