Dealing with Maniacs

[CesareBorgia]

I think you should tighten up, because you can afford to wait for good hands. The hands that you decide to play, you can play just as aggressively as they do. You probably won't need to bluff very often.

It is probably also useful, as someone earlier suggested, to play the maniacs from position. That's why I think you might consider having one or both of these maniacs close to your right.

Have fun!

[SuperUberBob]

[ QUOTE ]
put them to a decision for all of their chips

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly.

Even the most LAG players will shrink to that.

[WSOPChump]

you miss the point of loosening up.
its not loosening up to try to play back at them.
its loosening up because qj is better than their starting range (or KQ etc).
there is really only one way to play against people who overbet the pot and that is to just slow play and trap them. however, you are able to slowplay and trap with more hands than you think.
buttom line is these guys suck really bad at poker. you could just be losing due to higher variance.

[kibble420]

If you can't beat the bad players, how are you going to beat the good ones?

[Ace Eleven]

You are an idiot

[JJNJustin]

You really havent given specific enough information about their playing styles for me to give you any real advice.

I would suggest trying to get behind them at the table, so when you do play hands against them you have position.

I would also suggest you try, as best as you can, to remain friendly to them, even though you are bothered by their style and presence in your otherwise profitable game.

I say this because you say they are buying in multiple times, so I figure them to be profitable opponents.

Older players are not so strict about what cards they play pre-flop, but are better at reading hands than you probably are. Be careful about 'telegraphing' your hands. You may find yourself in a position where you are only getting called when you are beat, and are making a lot of calls with 2nd best hands in attempts to generate your own action.

Also, when you hold a big pair and one of them is in the pot, try not to jump out of your seat when you know you have them crushed. Just remain calm and try to pretend you have something else like 77. Get heads up if necessary, but dont pull the trigger too fast, unless the pot has grown to the point of no return. Remember bluffers usually have nothing, and if you tell them you have something, they have to fold, and you lose money you make when they keep firing at the pot.

Be sociable with them. Old guys can get tempermental if they arent drinking alcohol and socializing nicely helps keep them calm and relaxed and will keep them in the game longer.

-J

[maryfield48]

Recently at my home game our resident maniac got short-stacked (with his fourth or so stack of the evening) and started pushing for 8BB or so preflop. I called him once with QJs, he had 8-8 & won. I called him another time with AK, he had Q-9 & hit a Q. Eventually he got a playable stack and started making his big move on the flop instead of pre-flop. He took down a few pots that way. I was in some of those pots, but was not prepared to call any of those overbets without the goods.

Eventually I was able to limp in to a hand with A-2, and the flop came J-2-2. I had position, maniac made a smallish 1/3-pot bet, one other caller, and I figured if I raised then he might get away from his hand, so I just called. On the turn 8 he overbet the pot, and I knew I had him. I raised, he pushed with J-7, I stacked him.

They'll give you their money if you are patient enough, and are prepared to play some post-flop poker.

[Grasshopp3r]

The key is patience and you can trap them eventually.