If you are a maniac, limit hold'em is definitely your game. No other poker game offers so much opportunity for your raw aggression to be considerably successful. Of course, your swings will be huge, and you eventually will lose money, but the ride will be exciting. You will have occasional big wins, and if you enjoy such things, you can watch your opponents squirm with discomfort and distort their games when trying to react to you.
If you are not a maniac, like most readers, maniacs give you problems. Their constant hyperaggression increases the price of poker, forces you to play fewer hands, increases your volatility no matter what you do, and changes the strategies you normally use to beat games.
You will notice that I have not defined "maniac." If you wait, I will provide a more detailed definition, and help you distinguish among different types of maniacs. For now, let's just say a maniac is a player who seems to be far more aggressive than any rational hand-selection criteria would allow, raising and reraising preflop (and generally post-flop, as well) with great frequency.
Let's look at some general rules about maniacs and their games:
• You do not have to play.
• The maniac is comfortable.
• Bluffing him is difficult.
• He distorts the play of your opponents.
• Tighten up.
You do not have to play: Well, you never have to play poker, so this seems obvious. Nevertheless, many players sit down in a game with a maniac, or more often are sitting in a game when a maniac sits down, and stay there while having a terrible time, not knowing what to do and grumbling about everything, but not leaving.
Remember that you never should stay in a game when you do not feel comfortable. I realize that it seems like you should stay in maniac games, because the "book" says the maniacs are playing badly, which should give you a better chance to win. Also, every pot is huge, so you figure that you need to win just one or two of them to have a great night.
However, if you are unsure of which hands to play or how to play them, you can start to lose a lot. It is tough to lay down any hand because (a) it might be a winner, and (b) look at the pot odds you are getting. So, you play more hands, lose more, and start playing even more because if you win just one or two of these giant pots, you'll be even.
Sometimes you have to admit that you are in a game that - even though it looks juicy - is too hot to handle. If you know how to play in these games, can tolerate the swings, and brought enough money to buy in several times if needed, go ahead and play. If not, find a better game, time, or place.
The maniac is comfortable: Most people do not play in games with a maniac in them very often.
However, the maniac does. While his opponents founder around in strange waters, not knowing what to play, when to raise, whether to respect his raises, or how to deal with the pots that seem to make it correct to chase with everything, the maniac is directly in the middle of his comfort zone. He is used to games in which everyone may win or lose two or three racks in a short period of time. He is used to getting raised by little or nothing, and reraising with little or nothing himself.
While opponents are struggling to cope with incessant raises and reraises, the maniac is directly in his element. He is in a maniac game every time he plays. This enables him to better understand the game's dynamics and enjoy the struggles of his opponents.
Bluffing him is difficult: Most players assume that if worse comes to worst, they can always try to bluff the maniac on the river, as he frequently has little or nothing. Unfortunately, this works far less often than it would seem, because the maniac is quite used to people trying to bluff him, and will often call with thin values that you and I might lay down, or even attempt a rebluff. Maniacs know what you are trying to do, as they see people trying to do this to them all the time. That is not to say that a bluff won't ever work, but it will not work nearly as often as it would against a more pedestrian player.
He distorts the play of your opponents: This may prove to be a good thing or a bad thing, but it is nevertheless an important fact that you need to consider. Maniacs in a game tend to turn even the most conservative opponents into looser and more aggressive players. People who would never think of playing the A
3
in an ordinary game from any position suddenly find themselves three-betting with it from middle position. Players who would fold the K
10
without a quiver for a single bet are now calling two bets, or even three, routinely.
They see the maniac raising with J-3 and 8-4, and they figure, "Well, my hand is so much better than his hand might be that I would be a fool to throw it away." The fact that they are playing more hands becomes contagious, and now four or five opponents are seeing flops for multiple bets with substandard (for them) hands.
This, of course, makes for bigger pots and larger pot odds, meaning it becomes tougher for anyone to lay down a hand post-flop, even for the multiple bets that are certainly coming, because the maniac is still going to bet and raise when it is his turn, at least on the flop.
Unfortunately, you now have a tougher time reading what used to be sedate and predictable opponents. Despite the bigger pots, the game becomes tougher to read.
Tighten up: This advice depends on how your opponents are reacting, but in general, play fewer hands. When entering pots becomes more expensive, you need more quality to play. If several players are in, high unsuited cards go down so much in value as to become unplayable, though I would still see flops with A-K. If you can eliminate players by three-betting (not as easy as it sounds, with everyone expecting you to try), you can play some hands like A-J and K-Q, but do not overdo it.
If everyone goes on tilt, as often happens, and six or seven players take every flop for multiple bets, restrict yourself to only suited aces and pocket pairs. Flee post-flop if you do not flop a set, overpair, or flush draw. Bet and raise like crazy if you do.
Next time we will take a look at different kinds of maniacs and how to adjust to them.
Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold'em: Winning Short-handed Strategies, both available at www.CardPlayer.com. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].
