Table Dynamics - 1/2 on an early Saturday afternoon in my local room.

H has been at table for about 30 minutes, and is a young white, 30 y.o. Should have a TAG image, only has played a few hands and have almost all been an open. But I may be viewed as loose because I have button straddled the 3x I have had the chance too.

V - in this hand is a young Indian kid. V is also to the immediate right of H. This kid in the 30 minutes I have sat here is a complete maniac. He raises pre to outrageous sizes 15%, and will limp the other 85% of the time. He has bet 40-50 into 10-12 dollar pots, he has also called bets of 25, 60, and 150 on a QK45A runout with Q6 against the definition of a OMC... He is constantly topping off every other hand as well, and it seems like he has an endless amount of money he is willing to put into the game.

One hand of note prior - H is in the button straddle and V (effective stack of 300) bets out 25 over a few limpers. H makes a speculative call with A9cc, and we go to a flop 3 ways.

Flop 9d8c3c (90ish)

X, V bets 50, H jams and scoops, and doesnt show.


OTTH - One orbit later H is in the button straddle, a few limps, V limps, H raises to 20 with As10d, all fold and V reraises to 45, H makes the call. V is effective stack of about 360

Flop (105ish) AdQd3d

Vx, H bets 50, V calls

Turn (205ish) AdQd3dQs

Vx, H,x

River AdQd3dQs6c

V open shoves for about 250, H folds and lets it go? Against a competent player I think this is either Qx, or a missed flush, but its tough to put yourself in the shoes of a maniac.


I know when playing against a maniac the rule is to just wait for premiums, bomb the pot, and get it in as good as possible, but this kid was spewing money and I was afraid he would bust soon and go home.

This seems like a great hand to check back flop as we have lots of equity vs his folds and are often flipping vs his calls (and sometimes crushed by his traps). I would be very concerned when a maniac limp raises pre and then checks a board that hits his range hard. Thinking a little more his pf play is totally full of **** and I might just jam 300 pre.

Anyhow we got here on the river and have good removal to big hands vs a nut job so call it off and reload max.

The A9cc I would raise small, we want him to go all in with us. The hands that fold to a shove have very little equity and we wouldn’t mind him going crazy with who knows what maniacs go crazy with. Though thinking about it more a shove is fine.

Hand of note prior seems bad, calling 12.5bb pre (6ish bb with straddle) with A9s seems mediocre even on the BTN. Hand doesn't seem strong enough to value call with a 3x SPR. Was your plan to call it off on J72r boards? Then we flop the super nuts and shove V off all his bluffs.


Then ATo again on the BTN straddle seems like we'd want to raise bigger, and again value calling a 3bet is mediocre. If he's insane enough that ATo is significantly ahead then just pretend it's AK and get it in.

Again we flop well, and against almost everyone I check the flop with AxTd on Ad*d*d boards, esp. so in 3bet pots which should have much more suited ranges (in theory). Against specified V who we assume is still very wide so he often doesn't have dd it's maybe better to just bet, but assuming we are never folding I'd go bigger.

As played turn I don't mind a small bet or check. We kind of have to call it off if we bet and we mostly want to call rivers if we check.


River is w/e, probably lean towards a fold given the Q6 hand on KQ45. Could be more of a call if we've ever seen him bluff rivers with air, and bet/check lines are often weaker, as this is kind of unique in a 3bet pot on a monotone board where you have a decent amount of Kdx on the river and he might be way overbluffing.

Your river ranges for sane people are a bit weird too, you got 3bet pre. ... it's not like most people have QxJd here that can call flop, maybe good players have KdQx a decent amount but then probably don't just x/c flop.
I'd assume river is KdKx/JdJx and flushes/AQ/AA/QQ and probably underbluffed.


tl;dr You just don't have as much value on the BTN against a player with this wide a range, if he can bluff. So you either need to know he isn't bluffing, or pile more money in pre. when A9s/ATo is significantly ahead of his range (or fold).