HU- How to play a maniac

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pat3392

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I vs. a maniac the other day and he absolutely destroyed me. He reraised me often, did pot size c-bets and basically was just a plan menace.

I kept on accepting his rematches as I was intent on learning how to beat this person. After 3 games I gave up.... I did not know how to play against this player.

He truly had me at his mercy. If I went to play back at him he'd basically commit himself; if I called his bets with small hands he'd get to decide how much money would go in. These players aren't hard to beat when short, since I can just push the hand but when we're reasonably deep I have no clue how to beat them.

I tried playing passive and let him take bluff me of a strong hand but it didn't work; I wasn't getting much cards + he seemed to catch on to that was what I was doing and changed gears.


Sorry if I'm not giving much detail. Just wondering what how you guys generally play against a maniac
 
Leo 50

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HU is a different animal than normal table poker.

Once your opponent beats you, he has you by 100% profit
($1 buy-in, wins $2)
He is now free rolling, if he wins again, he is now profitable.

The range of both players increases far beyond the norm.

Just like a normal table, the less players the stronger some normally weak hands become (A-4 KQ 6-7 9-10 etc)

Any Ace is strong, any pair is a monster and both players need to be aware of this.
It's really hard to fold almost any hand HU.
If you are on the button, you need to be able to raise with almost ATC.
If you have a suited connection, some paint cards, or even OS connectors, then you need to see a flop.

Remember most of the time no one hits the flop, and aggression can mean the difference between winning or losing a pot.

Try to Google some of the NBC Heads up championships and you will see what I mean.
 
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pat3392

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HU is a different animal than normal table poker.

Once your opponent beats you, he has you by 100% profit
($1 buy-in, wins $2)
He is now free rolling, if he wins again, he is now profitable.

The range of both players increases far beyond the norm.

Just like a normal table, the less players the stronger some normally weak hands become (A-4 KQ 6-7 9-10 etc)

Any Ace is strong, any pair is a monster and both players need to be aware of this.
It's really hard to fold almost any hand HU.
If you are on the button, you need to be able to raise with almost ATC.
If you have a suited connection, some paint cards, or even OS connectors, then you need to see a flop.

Remember most of the time no one hits the flop, and aggression can mean the difference between winning or losing a pot.

Try to Google some of the NBC Heads up championships and you will see what I mean.

I'm aware of the differences between HU and normal table, but do you still raise ATC if you you're constantly being played back at and have too many chips to ship it?

Do you call the flop with bottom pair knowing that villain is likely to barrel the turn? If you've called the turn then I basically should call the river too, which gives him the opportunity to determine how many chips go in the centre.
 
SydTheCat

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Do you call the flop with bottom pair knowing that villain is likely to barrel the turn? If you've called the turn then I basically should call the river too, which gives him the opportunity to determine how many chips go in the centre.


If you hit bottom pair, you're probally ahead in HU (especially against this guy) I would probally push it in that situation instead of calling and seeing the turn. IMO
I've played many aggressive players HU, and usually when I play more aggressive back at them they slow down.
 
dontshiveagit

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There are some benefits to being that maniac because your keeping the opponent guessing at all times.

The hard part is getting all your chips in with the right hand and not playing too over aggressive.

You don't always want to slow play a "maniac" because he will most likely catch on and just check whenever you call them.

Again, you can call some of his hands and then bet small as a bluff as he most likely will be bluffing.

Plenty of ways to play these types of players, just need to test the waters.
 
Daniel72

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You have two options to play a maniac in heads up games: big bet poker, if you have a reasonable / strong hand, ship it in ! Or you say to yourself: the call button is my best friend ! Let him bet into your strong hands / monsters, let him bluff all his chips into you - its fun ! :)
 
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Against a maniac, I think that the best strategy is to play tight and passive. Raise any Ace, PP and suited connector and one-gap suited down to 5-6. If both of you are deep, you have to catch a good hand in the first level. Otherwise, when you have around 15 to 20 BB, you can't do it anymore since you won't be able to sustain any major loss.

Generally, against this type of player, I call with first, second pair and sometime 3rd pair. Those players are tough to beat cause they looks like they always catch something on the flop. We all know that this is not possible but the danger is to stay calm and not call an all-in bet if you don't believe your opponent with the 3rd pair. This will always be the hand where he will have the top one!
 
TylerN

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Play back at him constantly and he will slow down eventually. U also really need to understand the ranges HU. I mean the average hand is J6 I believe so hitting bottom pair is essentially a good thing and ur likely ahead
 
Leo 50

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I'm aware of the differences between HU and normal table, but do you still raise ATC if you you're constantly being played back at and have too many chips to ship it?

Do you call the flop with bottom pair knowing that villain is likely to barrel the turn? If you've called the turn then I basically should call the river too, which gives him the opportunity to determine how many chips go in the centre.

If you allow the maniac to control the table, ie: making all the bets and forcing you to fold your hands, then he will probably win.
You have to control the pot, if you have ANY decent hand then you need to raise!
Calling his bets (although not always his all-ins) is really a sign of weakness, he will exploit it.
If he makes a reasonably sized bet and you have a decent starting hand, then you need to raise forcing him to make a decision.
A starting pair even a low pair in HU is definitely worth playing.

:cool:
 
rounder22

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Exploit his weakness if he's a maniac he's betting alot so call when you have something lead out, reraise or check-raise and occasionally bluff him the same way you would when u have a hand I find these opponent's the easiest to play against because they overcomitt with weak hands.
 
cardplayer52

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These guys can be the toughest HU opponants to beat. You gotta hate money more than them to beat them. IMO it better just find someone else to play. Being determined to find a way to beat this player sounds like it could involve a little bit of tilt. The best way to find a way to beat him is like you doing here reseaching a strategy that is proven to work vs a maniac. Also try playing this style the best you can you will start to see the strengths and weaknesses it has first hand. This way you will learn how to make it hard for the guy using this style against you. It's always good to have another gear to switch to.
 
buzzmania

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i ended up at a table few days ago with one of these and no matter what i tried in the beginning didnt wor.i call he raised,i bet he reraised,etc.finally he had control over or so it seemed.finally i said f-it and pushed every hand and seem to finally get some control and most of my dignity back.it slowed him down but still outright beat me in the long run.
 
doops

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Playing a maniac HU is a nightmare. I play Fold or Shove, since only a fold thwarts his technique and only a shove will get his respect. If I get lucky, I'll take him down before he has a chance to tilt me. If I get unlucky, that nightmare is over quickly, and I again avoid tilt. I will NOT play him again.
 
KoRnholio

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I like playing against maniacs. They're betting/raising poor values, so to exploit that you can call down light postflop (using position of course), and trap him into value betting himself.
 
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If I'm playing a maniac I really cbf they a reraising all in with hands from A-2 and K-2 to hands like J-10 and even 8-9 so really if I have have QJ, KQ, 89 suited this ain't every single time however but mostly I'm shoving all in and its flippin could be 50-50 or at the very least 35-65 but I really cbf thankfully maniacs don't really make heads up
 
kingme620

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Playing a maniac HU is a nightmare. I play Fold or Shove, since only a fold thwarts his technique and only a shove will get his respect. If I get lucky, I'll take him down before he has a chance to tilt me. If I get unlucky, that nightmare is over quickly, and I again avoid tilt. I will NOT play him again.

lol....
 
Tonky666

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i just play very aggressively and commit entirely to my bluffs but all my bluffs always have a chance like i hit low pair with over card and try steal it by the turn,same 6 handed i play alot of hands especially in good position,like if u raise x4 in SB and he calls u have 46s and flop is 274 I'd bet half pot to get more chips and if now J or higher comes i slow down and if not i usually push or put him almost all in...
u can think i play crappy but that's how i play HU and 6 handed...if he more aggressive then u are by alot! like u on steroids then u just play according to the usual rules,call most flops and try to get a read and call alot of high bets that look like steals because he wont be getting a flush or a set of aces every hand and often they bet much more when they bluff then when they actually have a hand at the lower limits...he gets the same cards that every one else gets what makes him win is how he plays it and by playing loose and over agro he makes alot of mistakes,just stick to logic and don't let emotions affect u to also be agro and u should be able to take him. different story at a bigger table though :icon_geek
 
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maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems to me that he picked up on being able to bully you. You probably shoulda started pushing him around with those flopped pairs. But then again, it's your bankroll. I still say HU players should be way more aggressive. GL out there
 
fletchdad

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cardplayer52 made some good points, among others as well. If you have you HH saved, just review the games, post some hands on CC, really study what you did and how he reacted, how he adjusted in the string of games to you. Did his style change as you played game after game, or was he aggro from hand one? If he changed gears, did you notice? Did he RR every raise? Did he raise every call? Review can open you eyes to a lot, especially your own leaks. Instead of playing more to figure out how to beat him, take a break, and review your games t figure out how to beat him.THEN look him up and play again. Any keep playing, reviewing, playing, reviewing...... You will eventually kill him, if you know what to look out for.

IMHO.
 
TylerN

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He's the maniac i guess
 
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