Once again, you cannot give the
maniac too much respect, he will just steamroll you. The
maniac has made
so many questionable plays up to this point that I will be reluctant folding anything better than, or equal to,
second high
pair against him.
In the below hand, I once again had to adjust my play against this player. I am dealt AQo in early
position and
raise
the bet to $2.50. This is a pretty
standard raise for me with these cards.
Everyone folds around the table until it gets to the
maniac, seated in the small blind
position.
The
maniac then re-raises me $10, upping the bet to $12.50!!
Normally, this is an easy
fold for me. My hand is dominated by AK, AA, KK, and QQ. If the
raise came from any other
player, I would have immediately put my opponent on one of the aforementioned hands, and folded my cards without any
hesitation. However, since the
raise came from the
maniac bettor, I have to downgrade the quality of his cards,
which then makes my hand the best hand at this moment. Instead of my normal
fold, I
call his bet.
The flop comes 3 Q 9. There is no doubt in my mind that I am winning this hand.
The
maniac bettor comes out firing, betting $10. I re-raise him another $10, putting myself all-in. The maniac only has $2 left, and he folds!!! If he was holding anything decent whatsoever, he should have made this
call, the pot was huge and it would have only cost him $2 to see two more cards! Instead, he folded, telling me that both bets were stone cold bluffs.
So, against the
maniac player, the key is to play good cards and be prepared to stand by them. There is more risk playing against this type of player, and if you are not willing to make those calls, or re-raise against this player, the best advice would be to move to a different table. Playing against the
maniac forces you to play outside of your normal comfort zone, but the payoff can make it a worthwhile and profitable endeavor.
Check out the hand below:
***** Hand History for Game 393262132 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Sat Feb 14 21:25:58 EST 2004
Table Card Room Table 3670 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Player1 ( $34.10)
Seat 2: Player2 ( $32.65)
Seat 3: Player3 ( $25)
Seat 4: Player4 ( $17.40)
Seat 5: Player5 ( $24.50)
Seat 6: Player6 ( $18.95)
Seat 7: Player7 ( $36.30)
Seat 8: FlopTurnRiver ( $32.20)
Seat 9: Player9 ( $18.25)
Seat 10: Player10 ( $24.50)
Player5 posts small blind (0.25)
Player6 posts big blind (0.50)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FlopTurnRiver [ Qc, As ]
Player7 folds.
FlopTurnRiver raises (2.50) to 2.50
Player9 folds.
Player10 folds.
Player1 folds.
Player2 folds.
Player4 folds.
Player5 raises (12.25) to 12.50
Player6 folds.
FlopTurnRiver calls (10)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3d, Qd, 9s ]
Player5 bets (10)
FlopTurnRiver raises (19.70) to 19.70
FlopTurnRiver is all-In.
Player5 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $52.95 with FlopTurnRiver
** Summary **
Main Pot: $52.95 | Rake: $2.25
Board: [ 3d Qd 9s ]
Player1 balance $34.10, didn't bet (folded)
Player2 balance $32.65, didn't bet (folded)
Player3 balance $25, sits out
Player4 balance $17.40, didn't bet (folded)
Player5 balance $2, lost $22.50 (folded)
Player6 balance $18.45, lost $0.50 (folded)
Player7 balance $36.30, didn't bet (folded)
FlopTurnRiver balance $52.95, bet $32.20, collected $52.95, net +$20.75
Player9 balance $18.25, didn't bet (folded)
Player10 balance $24.50, didn't bet (folded)
