SnG Account: $297 (Up $20)
Ring Account: $168 (up $57)
I'd already had a good day making some small profits in cash rooms and a win in an SnG for $16, so after a bit of badminton I was looking for an midnight session. It lasted five minutes. Here's why.
I noticed a game where a maniac was playing. He was seeing every flop and either calling any bet or going all in just for kicks. He was calling raises and then showing stuff like 75o and Ace-rag. I watched him for about five minutes and worked out how I could get all his money - basically see flops with him and wait to hit a solid hand and raise him progressively until all his money was in. Sadly, just as I entered the table he donated his last $10 to someone. But then he reloaded for another $25 and suddenly the table filled - obviously he'd attracted a lot of attention being the generous soul he was.
Three hands in I got pocket nines. I just called to make sure the maniac (positioned directly to my left) called. He did, somebody behind me then raised to a $1. This was pretty good for me as it thinned the field. I called and so did the maniac.
The flop came 6J9. Absolutely perfect. I checked it hoping the maniac would go all in but he didn't. However, the other player in the pot bet out $1.25. At this point I wasn't worried about him but I didn't want two people potentially drawing against me so I raised to $4. The maniac called and so did the other player. Turn was a K. Not a scare card yet but now there was a flush draw and straight draw potential so I bet out $8. I was desperate to keep the maniac but warn the other player. They both took no notice and called. Another K came. Now I was worried. The pot was standing at about $40 now and although I had a full house I was concerned that the raising player might have JJ and was calling my big bets just to fill up the pot. I had $12 invested in the pot so I wasn't in deep trouble yet, I decided to check and see what the other two did. The maniac bet $0.25 (yes, $0.25) and the other player just called. Now I knew he didn't have jacks so I just threw the whole lot in. They both called. At this point I had no idea what might beat me. The maniac turned over A4s which was par for his course (I wonder what was going on with him) and then the other player turned over j10, he didn't even have a flush draw! I'm trying to figure out if he thought I was bluffing to get all the maniac’s chips. I took $71.82 from the pot.
Either way, for one hand the conditions were perfect. I played it exactly how I wanted to and the opposing player did exactly what I wanted them to. This wasn't great poker, I was just the lucky one on the table to hit the cards I needed to gut one very plump fish and another guy who got it all very wrong.
The maniac didn't reload again and I was on such a high after winning such a big pot that I decided to leave before I blew it all on over confidence. I did, however, take the time to input my winnings into tourney tracker. My hourly rate for cash games has now rocketed from $6 an hour to $9 an hour. Happy days!
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2 comments:
not sure i agree with your overall idea of how to beat the maniac...trapping is good, but a really solid player will value bet and even call huge bets from a maniac playing any two cards...if you keep folding and folding waiting for the perfect hand to bust him, you're missing a lot of opportunities and rewarding his aggression.
Also you played your full house incredibly scared and weak--only thing to beat you is a bigger full house and you cant see monsters under the bed all day.
Just my 2 cents
Thanks for the comments and thanks for reading.
I think when I say maniac he was beyond maniac. The guy was just throwing money in all the time. The table was also eight-handed so it would have been difficult to do what you say without worrying about eight other players. Basically I wanted to get into a position where I had just the maniac in after flop with a hand better than top. It was unlikely but it happened.
You're probably right about checking the full-house, I just didn't have anything to go by with the other player in the pot - espcially as he had called $12 worth of bets already. I sensed the hand wouldn't be over with my check because the maniac was betting all the time when not calling big bets and I wanted to see what the other guy in the pot would do.
Of course, I'm only a micro-stakes player so all this might be nonsense.
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