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ON INTO THE STORM: PLAYING THE MANIAC AFTER THE FLOP

In this essay my focus will be on play after the flop on into the storm, if you will, of a hand played against a maniac. Once again, my aim is to go a little beyond what the poker literature has said about this topic to date.

There are maniacs, and Then There are maniacs

It has been my experience that maniacs vary more in their play after the flop than they do preflop. Two reasons for this stand out: First, holdem itself becomes more varied, more complex after the flop. From that point on, the maniac is responding to more complexities in the cards, is faced with more intricate decisions (even if he does tend to approach them one dimensionally), and has more playing options available to him. Second, fourth street separates those maniacs who are truly willing to blow off a lot of money from the sizable percentage who suddenly acquire some prudence when the bet doubles. After the flop you may be faced with a maniac who remains hyperaggressive throughout the hand, or one who calms down on the turne. He may play much better than he did preflop.

Some maniacs exhibit surprising flashes of sophistication in their play on the later streets. Others are unthinking all the way through. Therefore, as is so often the case in poker problems, you must know your player in order to make the best decisions against him.

Anti-Maniac Strategy

That said, we can nevertheless identify some strategic maneuvers that are useful against the “typical” maniac. Let’s assume that he plays very aggressively on the flop, that he will continue betting through the river, but that he often slows down when raised on the turn. For the sake of this discussion let’s also assume that you are heads-up against the maniac. This will often be the case if your are seated to his left and have reraised him before the flop. A key concept in dealing with a maniac is that of using his aggression to your own advantage. If you keep this in mind as you read the rest of this essay, every tactic I suggest should be easy to understand.

Big Hands, Little Hands, and In-Between Hands

Now assume you are heads-up and have flopped a big hand such as a set without many drawing possibilities present for your opponent. This is a nice situation. Your main concern is simply getting as much money as possible into the pot. If your maniac is one of those who is willing to invest a ridiculous number of bets on the flop with a mediocre hand, then you should probably keep raising right there until he finally stops, or you become concern that he may have you beat (if your poker hand is not the nuts). Some maniacs will keep raising enough on the flop that the money to be made there outweighs whatever you could expect to make by stopping sooner on the flop, in order to get a raise in on the turn. (However, you might want to think about how playing in this manner, intended to extract as much money as possible on this hand, will affect the maniac’s play against you on future hands. Sometimes this may point to a different approach.)

If you are against someone who thinks a little more about the meaning of your continued raising, you have to be looking for the point at which he will back off on his aggression and simply call you down, or even fold. There you will need to gauge whether or not you could collect more by slow playing a little on the flop, and waiting for the turn (or the river) to raise. Note that a key to this is the likelihood that he will call your fourth street raise. Even with this approach, against many maniacs you will have little trouble working in three bets on the flop, without jeopardizing your chance to raise on the turn. You need to make a similar decision when dealing with the kind of maniac who remains very aggressive on the turn. Against him you will often make more by getting the bets in on the turn. However, you will be unable to do this if you have shown too much aggression on the flop, thereby tipping him off to the strength of your hand.

Next >>

The Strategic Moment in Holdem / One Way Not to Fold /

Beating the Berserko: Preflop Against a Maniac /

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