$1/$2 NLHE $100.00 Buy In with Two maniacs at the table

[RRRRICK]

This was a very difficult situation. Either or both players would raise virtually every pot with any two cards. Most of the time they ended up playing the pot with eachother showing down great hands like 62, T5, 74. The would push on any flop and chase any draw for any price. Most players sat waiting for big hands before getting involved with them. I picked up AA and had maniac 1 call my $30 pre flop raise with 84 off suit and I went broke when he flopped two pair.

Any suggestions on how to go about playing against a maniac and more importantly does the tactic change if you have two maniacs on the same table.

[spoohunter]

There is no way to beat these players, unless you move up limits. Only at $5/$10 will players give you the respect you deserve and fold.

[RRRRICK]

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There is no way to beat these players, unless you move up limits. Only at $5/$10 will players give you the respect you deserve and fold.

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Thanks for the advice spoo

[Bremen]

$30 preflop raises!!??? with just $100 buyins just push preflop

[A_C_Slater]

He shouldn't raise at all. He should limp reraise all in after one of them raises.

Don't sit at tables like this unless you feel comfortable dropping about five or six buy ins very quickly. If you can manage to double up twice you will be in a very profitable situation. They will increase your variance, so if you only have $200 then you should just find another table.

I have been in similar situations at the 100 max buy in tables before. AA-99 and AK-AQ is what you should be waiting for, if this game has a time charge then it makes your situation worse and you may have to add 88-77 and KQ, AJ to the list.

[lossage]

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There is no way to beat these players, unless you move up limits.

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Bzzt. Your statement might be correct if you substitute "without considerable bankroll swings" for "unless you move up limits."

The way to beat these players is to play them as much as you can, by offering yourself the best possible odds that you can at all times, and by being prepared for some swings.

Suppose for a moment you're playing NLHE against me. I have a very simple pre-flop strategy: if it's folded to me pre-flop, I open for ten times the big blind; post-flop I'm less predictable but tend toward over-aggression. Playing against me would be frustrating, yes, because seeing a hand through to the end is much more expensive than would be expected at whatever stakes we were playing. But, I could be easily beaten over the long term. For example, you could raise less and call more to get me to build pots for you, and you could deploy the limp-reraise with your huge starting hands to take advantage of my pre-flop mania.

Occasionally, I would drag huge, lucky pots with junk, but most of the time your good starting hands would beat my random starting hands, and over time, the probability that I would go broke gradually but inexorably approaches 1.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

With such a small cap on the buy-in, you've just got to sit and wait, play tight against these guys. It would be different if it was a $500 cap, then you could take some flops and look to outplay them later. Of course by "outplay" I mean get a decent flop, make a friggin' HUGE bet etc etc. I'd suggest a selective all-in push preflop strategy might be helpful here. AK, TT or better, make a huge reraise against their preflop bullpucky. If they continue to get out of line after you've done this a time or two, reduce your standards a little, go with 88-99 and AQs, AJs, and maybe even KQs. Basically you're going to have to gambool some to beat these guys, but pick your spots, don't play too much of their game.

al

p.s. you could always kick them in the nuts too [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[autobet]

Sounds like the easiest game in the world to beat in the long run. Players calling 15x the BB raises with junk with short stacks (calling 30 and you have 70 behind) are making the worst kind of fundamental mistakes possible. You will need to have a decent bankroll to play these games, as you found out they will be swingy.

Playing ABC poker, making sure to deny proper pot odds to your opps draws will get the money.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

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There is no way to beat these players, unless you move up limits. Only at $5/$10 will players give you the respect you deserve and fold.

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This statement is soooooooooo wrong it's amazing. Rick is describing an incredibly profitable (albeit volatile) situation that he's trying to adjust to. Instead of adjusting properly, you suggest that it's unbeatable, and the only way to win is to move up in limits, and play against better players who will properly fold instead of making horrific calls.

Respect is not the key to winning at no limit, getting people to put in their money with much the worst of it is the key.

al

[Grisgra]

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[ QUOTE ]
There is no way to beat these players, unless you move up limits. Only at $5/$10 will players give you the respect you deserve and fold.

[/ QUOTE ]

This statement is soooooooooo wrong it's amazing. Rick is describing an incredibly profitable (albeit volatile) situation that he's trying to adjust to. Instead of adjusting properly, you suggest that it's unbeatable, and the only way to win is to move up in limits, and play against better players who will properly fold instead of making horrific calls.

Respect is not the key to winning at no limit, getting people to put in their money with much the worst of it is the key.

al

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I'm pretty sure he was joking.