How do you play against the most feared player at a table?

Manics are the most feared and volatile
players in Texas Hold 'Em. These players
can steal your blinds all night long without
being challenged, but once you decide to
make a stand they will reveal their monster
hand...

That is, unless you know how to play
"manics" properly.


The reason that manics are so dangerous is
that they wear down the logical thinking
process of other players.

A manic will bet wildly for so many hands
that eventually players will call them even
when they don't have good cards.

I myself usually reraise the manaics to see if they back down. If they keep betting wildly I'll out wait them or wait till I have the best hand and take them out. How do you handle a manaic?

why do you
insist on typing
like this? dont you
know that
you can type
all the way through?
reading post typed out
like this is a bit annoying
i expect your post
to be poetry of
some sort.

anyway...against "most feared" i dont get involved in pot with them unless i have KK or AA..

just say out of their way and let others take them on.

I will test the waters against those players with a re-raise and a challenge, when i have a semi capable hand. If he is mad enough to go all the way on any bet, ill stay far away unless i have something really tasty to throw at him.

I personally leave the table--especially if you are talking about on-line poker--it's just not worth the frustration. In a face to face game it's a little easier to read the player, so it might be possible to defeat them.

I'd pick a hand pre-flop and bet it hard though to the turn. If your hand soesn't look like a winner and he's still betting hard on the turn then let it go. Usually by the turn if the maniac has nothing he'll let it go, or even better you make your hand and take him big.

Well I apologize to you philthy
if my typing bothers you
but sometimes when
I copy
n
pAste things it comes out that way


From now on I will watch how I type and make it correct so as not to bother anyone I've read your tips and like them alot. Great info

You just gotta save your money for when you have the nuts and then push back and let them get taken down a peg or two. They usually back off after a big loss.

dont try to bluff a bluffer it always seems to stab you in the back. there is always someone else that will put there money up and its fun to sit back and watch the outcome......oooh look i just got a q j offsuit........................................... ........................IM ALL IN!!!!............... well off to the emergency room again...its ok they know me pretty well there!!

The first step in playing against a maniac is to have them seated on your right. This way you always get to act after they do. Against maniacs I like to play suited cards, especially small suited connectors. My strategy for this is that if I flop a draw, the maniac has to bet before I do. If he bets, which most likely he will do, I just call his bet.

After calling his bet on the flop, if he bets on the turn I raise him, whether or not I made my draw doesn't matter. If he's bluffing at the pot he'll usually just give you the pot. If he calls, you still have one card left to catch your draw, if you happen to catch your draw, he probably won't be able to figure out what you have because of that raise on the turn. Most of the time if the maniac has any kind of a hand, you'll get paid off.