calling down a maniac*

[nietzreznor]

Stars .25/.50

I am UTG with TT. I limp in (~$60.00), as do 3 others. Villain (SB with around $50.00) raises it to $3.00. I call, everyone else folds. My read is that villain is that he is pretty loose (both pre and post flop), and will bluff big on flops, especially if he is PFR. I am not sure that he is complete MANIAC, but he's close.

Anyways, flop ($8.00) comes: Q76

Villain leads for the pot, and I call. Obviously I could be beat here, but I have seen him make moves like this with [censored] like T7o, so there is a good chance my tens are good.

Turn ($24.00) J

Not the best card for me, but I made my decision on the flop to go with this hand, so...

Villain pushes, I call.


Anyone like this? Hate it?

[jaydub]

Well, if you think he would frequently make this move with a hand like ace high or third pair then sure, make the call. Just realize that's about all you beat here.

I generally would have preferred to raise at some point, like the flop.

[djoyce003]

There will be a lot of better opportunities to get this guys money...this isn't it.

[res1cue]

[ QUOTE ]
There will be a lot of better opportunities to get this guys money...this isn't it.

[/ QUOTE ]
I agree with this one, something as small as top pair with good kicker might be enought to get this guys $$. All you need is patience with these guys becuase right now you are gambling just as much as he is with 2 over cards on the board and a preflop raise.
But it seems that you had you mind made up before you saw the flop to play you had to the end, so you should try this, instead of calling a push, you yourself should push on the flop after he made the initial bet. That can give you an edge sometimes.
let me know what you think
later

[primate]

I would normally reraise a maniac with JJ or better. Let him know that when your in the pot your serious. 10's are just too much of a lottery. And I agree that patience is the key and there will be better spots to pick him off.

[pmuir10]

just wait him out.. these guys dont suddenly change playing styles

[nietzreznor]

Thanks for the replies. Most of you say that I should wait for a better spot, and you may be right. I am assuming, though, that by saying this, you mean that I am probably not ahead here often enough, and hence my play is -EV. It seems to me that if my play is +EV (which it may not be), it is +EV, and there is no sense in waiting for a better spot.
In retrospect, I am not sure that this was a good hand to post, since whether or not this is a +EV play is very read-dependent. I guess I was hoping some would weigh in with their conclusions from experience against similar opponents.

Anyways, villain showed KK and I lose. I suppose maniacs get their share of big hands too...

[res1cue]

You have to also take one thing into account, TT is something like 50%+ vulnerable to overcards preflop, which means that a bit more than half the time overcards will come up on the flop which will hit the villan. So on the long run I belive that pushing all-in preflop against mainiacs with paires like 77-JJ will probably give you a better +EV on the long run, but like you said, they to also get good hands and it really sucks when they do.
later