I agree with Ensign_Lee. I want the maniac on my left.

It's really nice to see how many people are calling the maniac on any given hand. I'll probably play some marginal hands if only 1 or 2 people call his raise. I get this information only if he's on my left.


Another point is that people tend to discount a maniac's raises. If I check, the maniac raises, and several call I can usually do well by completing the check-raise. Usually this can force several out even after they called the first raise.

One other thought on the maniac. I've had my worse losses with a maniac at the table. It's easy to discount his raises because they tend to be without substance. However even a blind pig sometimes finds a truffle, and even a maniac can sometimes find a set or even better. This is when I've tended to get clobbered.