Shifting gears can be very effecitive. But the cost of your Maniac gear might be too high compared to the potential greater payoff in your tight gear. Also, many players at the $25 NL tables just aren't aware enough of the players around them. Others will hit and run, so giving them money doesn't help much either.

However, I do use a variation of this when I play. In my first few hands at a table I raise it up more and am more likely to bluff and steal pots. I do this both for table image and to get information about how the table is playing. Then I shift down gears. In one hand history I posted I was running this strat, got pocket Kings ("got *another* pair Fnord?") and I flopped the set. AK tried to trap me with his two pair and it blew up on him wonderfully.