This hand, and this villain, remind me of an
article I read a while back by Annie Duke which states in part:
[ QUOTE ]
Now what? If you are in position and the maniac is betting into you after the flop, just call. If you are out of position, just check and call. The reason for this tactic is this: chances are that he is bluffing. If you raise, you will get him to fold and lose all the money he would have continued to bluff off on later streets. Against a maniac you should wait until the river to raise when you think you have the best hand. Never discourage him from bluffing off his money. This is probably the most important aspect of playing the maniac, make sure you allow him to bluff every last penny.
[/ QUOTE ]
This was certainly a case where I had to play the player rather than the cards. I figured that his range to raise 3rd street included a lot of junk hands. With the starting hand I had, I had to basically follow the line advocated by Annie above, which loses me the least when he actually has a hand, and which wins me the most when he's got junk.