Texas Holdem Poker

Playing against maniac

With Dwan ending the season on a winning note, it is only appropriate to discuss how to handle a maniac at the table. They play just about every hand and fire at every pot. Their cards mean nothing to them and when they spot weakness, they are relentless. This type of player can win a lot or get felted, but they could care less. To them, it is all about scooping the chips and getting you off of your game.

This style of play has become very popular over the last few years. The young, internet generation of poker player has no fear and no respect for anyone else at the table. They are going to fire at any pot and if they hit, they will come right at you regardless of their kicker. You are going to have to learn how to deal with this type of play if you are going to be successful in today’s game.

If you show weakness, you are going to get run over. On the other hand, you don’t want to continue to dump good money after bad just to prove a point. You are going to have to catch them in a hand and make them pay. It is the only way to slow them down and reverse the way that they approach the game. It will only take once before you can slow them down and then it is your time to play their game.

If you sit down at a table and are out of position, change tables. You do not want to be in front of a maniac as you have to be ready to push your chips every time you are in a hand. To play with someone like this successfully, you must have position.

One thing that you are going to have to keep in mind is that this person is capable of playing any two cards in any position. You are going to have to watch their betting patterns and see how aggressive they are when they catch something and when they are just making a move on the pot. This attention to detail will pay off when you finally get your hand.

The maniac feeds off of weakness. In order to get them to fall into your trap, you are going to have to donate some hands to the cause. Look at is as an investment as you will get all of this back and more when they bite on the trap. Make some weak bets or raises and when he comes over the top, give up your hand after some thought. Do this a couple of times and the trap is set.

Now when that big hand hits, make your bet and wait for him to come right back over the top. If you are in a good situation, he may be pot committed and call you regardless of what he has. If he doesn’t call, you take the chips and you wait to catch him again. If you can catch him again, he will more than likely start to slow down when you are in a hand. Maniac’s are not stupid, they are just very aggressive. Once you get him slowed down, you can start to take over the table. You can get a maniac under control, it just takes some time and patience to do it.