3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

Been a while since I played against a maniac, the type who four bets with air on all streets, plays 90+% of his hands, and can really disrupt a game. This is a line check on a couple of hands. Only one other guy at the table seems to have made villain for a maniac. The other three are tilting and chirping in the chat.

Hand 1:

Hero is BB with 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
UTG limps, Maniac raises, Good Player calls, Button calls, SB calls, Hero calls, UTG calls.

Flop: T [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
Hero bets and intends to get it HU with maniac.

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Hand 2. Hero is CO with A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
Folds to hero, hero raises, folds to maniac (BB), maniac 3-bets. Hero calls? (should have capped it HU vs this looney?)

Flop: K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
Maniac bets, hero raises, maniac 3-bets, hero calls, intending to call down UI.

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Hand 3: Hero is SB with 8 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
Folds to maniac, maniac raises, button (good player) 3-bets, hero folds.

Glad to see games like this, but I felt a bit rusty. Haven't had a guy this crazy since party.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

Doh, wrong forum. meant to put this in SSSH. Mods - can you move it? Still not used to these drop down menu thingies.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

Hand1. I find two-pair hands to be very vulnerable so I like trying to thin the field this way. I hope you got a lot of bets in.

Hand2. Looks ok, if he really is raising any two cards you should probably cap pre-flop. If you think he'd 3bet the turn or river if you raised and you're not comfortable with the idea then a call down (baring you improved) is good.

Hand3. Dont know [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img], 88 is probably a little low to cap if you think the other guy is good, but you need to ask how light has he started to isolate the maniac? You could be well ahead of his range, but then you're probably seeing that flop 3 handed OOP.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

I would probably cap the last hand. The good player is opening up here so you have good equity. You might be able to use the maniac to push out the other player as well.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

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I would probably cap the last hand. The good player is opening up here so you have good equity. You might be able to use the maniac to push out the other player as well.

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I cap hand #3 aswell. The others look fine.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

Hand #1

Getting HU with maniac would be my first priority too. If he's autoraising flop, then betting out seems like the way to do it.

Hand #2

I cap PF. You're ahead an absurd amount of the time.

As played, I think the amount of flop action is appropriate. Never fold.

Hand #3

I wouldn't cap the last hand.

88 is very hard to play OOP against two villains in a hand that is guaranteed to go to showdown. I'd like to see a flop first, and hopefully use the maniac to trap the third player for extra bets on a baby flop.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

Thanks for the feedback.

Hand 3 was 5-handed, btw.

I didn't want to play a big pot oop with a mediocre hand against the good player. BB was still to act, and I knew the maniac was capping. Seemed expensive for 88 there on the one hand, but also seemed weak when I let it go. Like I said, I had to blow the dust off my maniac play.

I'll check my hh when I get home. There were some other strange hands, mostly calldowns HU vs. the maniac where I knew I was good but couldn't bring myself to raise him. Missed some bets.

Re: 3/6 couple lines vs maniac
 

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the feedback.

Hand 3 was 5-handed, btw.

I didn't want to play a big pot oop with a mediocre hand against the good player. BB was still to act, and I knew the maniac was capping. Seemed expensive for 88 there on the one hand, but also seemed weak when I let it go. Like I said, I had to blow the dust off my maniac play.

I'll check my hh when I get home. There were some other strange hands, mostly calldowns HU vs. the maniac where I knew I was good but couldn't bring myself to raise him. Missed some bets.

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The variance is higher, but you would raise the good player if he had just opened and not 3-bet the maniac. This situation is really not different, except that the maniac is adding money to the pot, which means it's going to be more difficult to win this before the river. There are still a lot of good flops for this hand and you have good equity.