Texas Hold'em Hand Play-By-Play Example - Adjusting to the Maniac II
If you read the other maniac Play-By-Play, this is the same maniac I'm playing against, during the same session.
Once again, you cannot give the maniac too much respect, he will just steamroll you. The maniac has made
so many questionable plays up to this point that I will be reluctant folding anything better than, or equal to,
second high pair against him.
In the below hand, I once again had to adjust my play against this player. I am dealt AQo in early position and raise
the bet to $2.50. This is a pretty standard raise for me with these cards.
Everyone folds around the table until it gets to the maniac, seated in the small blind position.
The maniac then re-raises me $10, upping the bet to $12.50!!
Normally, this is an easy fold for me. My hand is dominated by AK, AA, KK, and QQ. If the raise came from any other
player, I would have immediately put my opponent on one of the aforementioned hands, and folded my cards without any
hesitation. However, since the raise came from the maniac bettor, I have to downgrade the quality of his cards,
which then makes my hand the best hand at this moment. Instead of my normal fold, I call his bet.
The flop comes 3 Q 9. There is no doubt in my mind that I am winning this hand.
The maniac bettor comes out firing, betting $10. I re-raise him another $10, putting myself all-in. The maniac
only has $2 left, and he folds!!! If he was holding anything decent whatsoever, he should have made this call, the
pot was huge and it would have only costed him $2 to see two more cards! But, instead, he folded telling me that
both bets were stone cold bluffs.
So, the key is to play good cards and be prepared to stand by them against the maniac player. There is more risk playing against
this type of player, and if you are not willing to make those calls, or re-raise against this player, the best advice
would be to move to a different table. Playing against the maniac forces you to play outside of your normal
comfort zone, but the payoff can make it a worthwhile and profitable endeavor. Check out the hand below:
***** Hand History for Game 393262132 *****
0/0 TexasHTGameTable (NL) - Sat Feb 14 21:25:58 EST 2004
Table Card Room Table 3670 (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Player1 ( $34.10)
Seat 2: Player2 ( $32.65)
Seat 3: Player3 ( $25)
Seat 4: Player4 ( $17.40)
Seat 5: Player5 ( $24.50)
Seat 6: Player6 ( $18.95)
Seat 7: Player7 ( $36.30)
Seat 8: FlopTurnRiver ( $32.20)
Seat 9: Player9 ( $18.25)
Seat 10: Player10 ( $24.50)
Player5 posts small blind (0.25)
Player6 posts big blind (0.50)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to FlopTurnRiver [ Qc, As ]
Player7 folds.
FlopTurnRiver raises (2.50) to 2.50
Player9 folds.
Player10 folds.
Player1 folds.
Player2 folds.
Player4 folds.
Player5 raises (12.25) to 12.50
Player6 folds.
FlopTurnRiver calls (10)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 3d, Qd, 9s ]
Player5 bets (10)
FlopTurnRiver raises (19.70) to 19.70
FlopTurnRiver is all-In.
Player5 folds.
Creating Main Pot with $52.95 with FlopTurnRiver
** Summary **
Main Pot: $52.95 | Rake: $2.25
Board: [ 3d Qd 9s ]
Player1 balance $34.10, didn't bet (folded)
Player2 balance $32.65, didn't bet (folded)
Player3 balance $25, sits out
Player4 balance $17.40, didn't bet (folded)
Player5 balance $2, lost $22.50 (folded)
Player6 balance $18.45, lost $0.50 (folded)
Player7 balance $36.30, didn't bet (folded)
FlopTurnRiver balance $52.95, bet $32.20, collected $52.95, net +$20.75
Player9 balance $18.25, didn't bet (folded)
Player10 balance $24.50, didn't bet (folded)
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