Printable View
At my home game I play against a maniac who usually makes money versus the loose/weak players at our home game. He's very perceptive, he's a good player but I guess he's just too bored to play solid poker.
He will raise about 95% of the time. Let's say this player is on my left.
With a hand I am planning on playing should I....
1. limp/call to disguise the strength of my hand somewhat, and also possibly reraise if there's a big field.
2. raise preflop so I can take control of the hand.
both
mix it up so he can't figure out when you have a monster, or when you're trying to throw him off.
If you want to play a hand with him, I think you've got to mix it up as mentioned.
Personally, I like shutting these guys down by pushing several times. Especially fun if you sit right behind them. Usually they get the message after a few times and stop raising every hand. Just watch out for them trying to trap you. Strangely enough, most people when trying to trap will alter what they usually do, so they might just limp and expect you to push.
I'm not one of those all-in maniacs, in fact I'm one of the tightest players on this board. So maybe bullying the bully is some kind of adrenaline rush for such a weakie as myself. And I'm not sure what kind of game this is (cash, tourney, etc), so I'm not sure how effectively you can pull this off without a ton of risk.