Why You Can’t Beat Low-Limit Games: Write Strategic Plans for Individuals: II

Earlier columns proved you need a huge edge to overcome low-limit games’ extremely high costs. My last column recommended writing strategic plans for individual opponents. These plans should emphasize avoiding strong players and attacking easy ones. This column will focus on adjusting to one type of surprisingly tough player, Maniacs (extremely loose-aggressive players).

Some “Tough” Players Are Big Losers.

Toughness depends, not on their overall results, but on how well you do against them. If you lose, you don’t care how much they lose. Unfortunately, most players don’t know how well they do against various opponents because they don’t keep careful records. They base their decisions, not on their results, but on whether they enjoy playing with them.

Because the stakes are small, and so many people play primarily for fun, low-limit games have far more maniacs than larger games. They can play wildly without losing enough money to get upset. Many people enjoy playing with maniacs because they lose heavily and make the game much more exciting. Of course, if you beat these games, this column has little value for you.

If they had good records, some people who enjoy maniacal games would realize that they can’t beat them. Perhaps maniacs lose heavily, but others get their money.

A friend once started a question to David Sklansky, “I played $4-$8 with three maniacs. They capped the pot blind until the river, then looked at their cards.”

David asked, “How much did you lose?”

“$500”

You can’t get more maniacal than blindly capping pot after pot, yet my friend, a solid, winning player, took a horrendous loss.

Do Big Pots Mean Good Games?

That’s the title of one of Mason Malmuth’s Poker Essays, and he said: “[They] are often extremely lousy to play, even though many people think just the opposite.” (p. 114)
I agree. Those games are exciting, but my results have been dismal. Mason’s reasons for disliking these games are especially important in low-limit games.

1. You need a huge edge to overcome low-limit games’ high costs, and several factors reduce your skill’s edge.
2. Because the cost of seeing the flop is so high, your implied odds go way down.
3. The pots often become so big that chasing with weak draws – which is extremely common in low-limit games – shifts from being a terrible mistake to a minor one or even the correct play.
4.You can’t tell where you are because maniacs play or raise with anything. Since maniacs bluff very frequently and the pots are so big, you have to call them down with hands you’d usually fold.

I’ll add three more reasons to avoid maniacs. First, they often put other players on tilt. The pots become even bigger, and it becomes much harder to read normally solid players, destroying our card-reading edge. Because we usually play only sensible cards in sensible ways, maniacs and anyone on tilt can read us better than we can read them.
Second, we can rarely bluff, steal blinds, or isolate vulnerable players. Our skill edge goes down, and our results depend heavily upon luck.

Third, we’re frustrated by the loss of our skill edge and the increased number of bad beats. It’s bad to have aces cracked. If they lose to 7-3 offsuit in an enormous pot, it really hurts. If I’m too frustrated, my play deteriorates. Yours probably does too.

The bottom line is that maniac games are not good for me, and – despite their excitement – they probably aren’t good for you. Unless you have solid evidence that you beat these games, avoid them.

How Should You Adjust?

Of course, sometimes you can’t or won’t avoid them. If you decide to play, you must make huge adjustments.

NEVER Play in Short-Handed Maniacal Games: The blinds’ high cost prevents waiting for good hands. Because they have more experience with trash, Maniacs and other weak players may know how to play it better than you do.

You probably don’t want to be immensely more loose-aggressive. “To be successful at short-handed hold’em … you must realize that,if you are not careful, an individual could have the best of it simply by always betting.” (Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players: Twenty-first Century Edition, p. 185) The game is so different that you may switch from being more to less skilled than average.

Even if you’re willing to gamble, you’ll be way outside your comfort zone. Nobody plays their A-game when they’re too uncomfortable. Since Maniacs love to gamble, they gain an emotional edge.

If you can’t make such large strategic changes, or if they make you acutely uncomfortable, you must avoid short-handed maniacal games.

Restrain Your Gambling Urges: Many normally sensible players have lost heavily trying to beat Maniacs at their own game.

Tighten Up, Especially on the Early Streets: Unless you’ve got very good cards, don’t raise or three-bet a maniac before or on the flop: the pot will become too big, reducing your edge.

Rarely Bluff, and NEVER Try to Steal Their Blinds: The temptation to bluff can be almost overwhelming, especially if you’ve invested heavily in a busted draw. Unfortunately, because they call with almost anything, bluffs usually fail.

Stealing their blinds is ridiculous because you can win so little, but lose so much. They’ll usually call, and they’ll often three-bet. One unsuccessful steal can cost you several times your potential profit, especially if you compound this mistake by bluffing later.

Bet into Them to KO Draws: If the pot is significant and you’re out of position with a fairly good made hand, don’t check. The maniac will probably bet, and others will call. If you bet, the maniac will often raise, knocking out some draws that would beat you.

Invite Them to Bluff: If you’re out of position, and your hand is just okay, don’t make a river bet. Just check and call, hoping that they’re bluffing.

Don’t Fold OK Hands on the River: Unless the pot is small, you must not let them bluff you out. Of course, you’ll often be beaten, but a loss costs only one bet. A bad fold costs you the whole pot.

Rarely Isolate Maniacs: This advice directly contradicts my book, The Psychology of Poker. Since writing it, I’ve found that I do terribly when I’m heads up with maniacs unless I have great cards. And, if I have them, I usually want lots of players.

If my cards are just okay, I shouldn’t make the raises needed to isolate the maniac. If I raise, the pots often become too big, forcing me to call them down. Since they can frequently read me better than I can read them, they often outplay me. So, unless I have great cards, I generally call rather than raise.

Slowplay Big Hands: They will get much more action than you will, so let them make the pot. On the river you can call or raise, depending upon the circumstances.

What’s the Bottom Line? Minimize your losses with mediocre cards, and win a few monsters with great cards. ♠

“Dr. Al” ([email protected]) coaches only on psychology issues. For information about seminars and webinars, go to propokerseminars.com. He is David Sklansky’s co-author of DUCY? and the sole author of four poker psychology books.