Pokerwiner.com → Within poker principles
In a ring game you must think about the maniac’s play in the context of the ring game. If you play too many hands against a maniac playing after the flop in earlier positions, in a game containing skilled aggressive players, you may find that it won’t matter that your starting hands are better on average than the maniac’s. When tough players reraise behind you it will cost you three bets to play mediocre hands, wedged between a maniacs and a tough player.
Without the maniac in the game, you might limp in with those hands, but then would have to pay only two bets to see the flop when someone raises, and would not have to contend with both a maniac and a tough player. They take note of one element in isolation a maniac is raising before the flop and fail to look for its impact on or relation to other aspects of the game. More generally, the number of hands you play against a maniac should be influenced by your assessment of the other players in the game. How aggressive are they? How deceptive? How much respects do they accord your raises? How are they responding to the maniac?
How do they think you are responding to him? Are other players getting caught up in the maniac’s action and calling loosely behind you, even for two or three bets? Such questions will play a big part in hand selection decisions.
It is also crucial to consider the implications of the maniac’s play after the flop. Many hands do not play well heads-up after the flop against a classic maniac’s relentless, aggressive style of play. This is another reason to often avoid playing poker hands like
Or
In early position behind a maniac’s raise.(An exception might be in an otherwise loose, passive poker game in which you can confidently expect several callers, but not reraisers behind you if you call ). Rather, you need to shift hand selection toward hands that can go to the river with a realistic chance of winning unimproved. In early positions these include hands like
Or
As your position improves you can add additional hands containing aces or kings, and slightly smaller pocket pairs. Play these hands usually by reraising to isolate the maniac, playing him heads-up after the flop. Note that this means you will be playing more hands against the maniac’s raises than you would against the raises of a “normal” player. But be careful not to make the common mistake of going too far with this.
You will not be giving up much, and may save a good deal, if you always fold a hand like
The Strategic Moment in Holdem / One Way Not to Fold /
On Into the Storm: Playing the maniac After the Flop
One Reason to Reraise a Maniac / A Simple Read / Countering a Good Reader
Thinking About What They’re Thinking / Out On the Edge
Considerations in Two Blind Stealing Defense situations
Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part I
Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part II / Multiple Changing Images