Watch out for maniacs at the tables - and in the woods
Sorting It Out
Many poker players like to stick to Limit Hold’em games for a lot of reasons. But the number one reason why these players feel comfortable with their Limit games is because maniac players can’t jump on the table and start bullying everyone around with big raises and re-raises. In fact, the Limit Hold’em structure allows more conservative players to sit back and take advantage of maniac players.
That’s why you’ll see such a large majority of these ultra-aggressive players in the No-Limit games. Here they can make huge raises, and go all-in at any point which is a scary concept for many players. That’s why it’s so important for No-Limit players to develop a strategy to combat maniacs so they’re not getting pushed around the table.
You’ve Got To Recognize
The first thing you need to do is recognize who the maniac players are at the table. Maniacs are players who have little regard for the money they’re betting which gives them the freedom to raise and re-raise as much as possible. The more frequently they raise, the more uncomfortable they’ll make other players and some people may even leave the table.
After recognizing a maniac, you’ll need to know how to out-maneuver them at the table. The first thing to keep in mind is that you should never try to beat a maniac by being more aggressive than them or bluffing them. The bluffs won’t work, and focusing too much on the maniac with aggressive play will make you vulnerable to others at the table.
What You Should Do to Cash In
This is why you need to play a tight/aggressive style in order to beat the maniac; stick to your starting hand requirements in whatever position you’re in, and don’t budge. Now you might think that this won’t help you much against the other players at the table, but the thing is that maniacs tend to make others loosen up too, since everyone at the table is now suspicious of raises and re-raises. And this only serves to help out the tighter players since you will get lots of action on your great hands.
When you go to the river with a premium hand then it won’t matter how much the maniac, or others at the table, are betting. The thing is you want these other players to be raising your nut hands as frequently as possible so you can really cash in!
