There is this reg in my game that has a 36/12/2.0/13.2(VPIP/PFR/Agg/3bet) over 658 hands.

I find myself unsure how to deal with his high 3bet. After flop the pot is already bloated and he is either making pot sized bets to force an all in in the river, or gives up the hand completely. It's not unsual to see him go all in with TPTK or flush draw. But it's difficult to know which one is which.

What do I do preflop? Am I suppose to 4bet what I would normally 3bet? Just call when IP? Fold OOP?

Post flop? What's the best strategy?

I know it's a vague question but any strategy suggestions would be very welcomed as I have trouble adjusting!

It’s not like he’s going to be massively exploiting you if at all just because his 3bet stat is high. He might be a spewtard post flop with his weaker holdings in 3bet pots. I wouldn’t do any adjusting at all

To piggy back on this question say this guys fold to 4 bet is hypothetically 20%. What's your RFI range if you are in the CO and he is on the BTN? What do you 4 bet and/or GII with?

Try to sit to his left. Having position on him is key. If you're stuck on his right, open slightly tighter ranges, and be willing to 4-bet him lighter.

Have you plugged 13% in to Equilab to get an idea of his 3bet range? Regardless of his lines you still have to play poker. An exploit is tightening up your calling ranges and folding. I'd definitely start 4betting a little more of the top of my preflop range and if he is folding to 4bets at least 1/3rd or so of the time I'd add a couple more 4bet bluffs.

Looks like he is 3betting half his range and flatting the other half. I'd make notes on showdowns to see which half he is 3betting and flatting or if he is mixing it up.

He wants to see a flop so he can stack off. I'd make him pay more to see the flop when you are strong enough to defend. Hands like JJ are very strong vs 13%. Typically I wouldn't 4bet JJ but against an aggro 3better I would. I'd also not be afraid to stack off with made hands I usually wouldn't on flush draw boards if you know he shoves on FDs. He will miss more than he hits in the long run.

If he is fit or fold I wouldn't go crazy set mining small pairs. I'd use the 'call 20' rule. Set mine based on his 3bet sizing. If he plays shove or fold postflop some of your set mining opportunities will win without hitting a set so it should be +EV.

Option 2 is find another table where he isn't but then you lose the chance to have him pay you off. Players like that are begging for someone to take their money. Just have to be prepared for the variance that comes with it though.

An example would be, I am at CO with AQo and open 3x, he is in SB and raises to 10x. What do I do? Cold call?

Depends. What types of hands has he shown down with? If you had a better spot to 4bet that would be more useful because if you had say KK and 4bet him with confidence and he folded then you know how he responds to 4bets. Against 13% you are more than likely ahead but against 22 you're behind. It's a tough spot and I know you want to call or 4bet to shut this guy down but I think it could be a fold or it could be a call or it could be a 4bet. It depends on how much info you have.

A 3x+1bb 3bet could mean one thing and a 3x 3bet could mean another. If you have a reason to think you are in a coin flip it may be better to come over top just to avoid the tricky post flop spots. This is a cash game not a tourney so your results and actions shouldn't be motivated by thinking how to outplay an opponent because your tourney life depends on it. You need to be thinking in terms of + and - EV.

A good player can fire in like that from the SB as an Iso with a wide range. If he is doing this alot from the SB then coming over top is the right move. If he isn't doing this a lot from the SB or he did it another time and it went to showdown, the results of that hand would be full of vital info.

Best advice is changing seats if possible or moving to another table. That's the last kind of player you want acting after you. That would make me crazy. Out of frustration I would end up making a bad play, or a bad play that turned out to be the right play. It is just too much work honestly. Definitely change seats or tables.

Call, and don't fold top pair.

If someone's 3-betting a lot then you should open slightly less and fold less frequently when you open (flatting and 4-betting more).

Start by cutting out a few combos of hands you'd normally open but fold to a 3-bet. Some of your weaker off-suit hands for instance.

And sit on their left.

Thanks! From your replies it seems that it all comes down to studying him, sitting on his left, and not let him tilt me.

Thanks gals and guys!

I took the time to find this thread because I ran in to this situation over the weekend. If it was live I would of choked this guy.

Every time I raised he 3bet me. Every time. I raised from LJ with 89s and he 3 bet me and I had enough of it. Out of frustration I 4bet jammed and he called with AJo. Got some justice. Run out was T T J Q Q.

Stupid jam me but it worked out. He never 3bet me again that night.

I think my advice was bad when you asked about the AQ on the button hand. If you don’t take a stand he’s gonna keep doing it. I think you got to play for stacks there at least once and AQ has plenty of equity compared to the range he should have based on your comments.

The kicker is you may lose your stack. You should be mentally prepared for that. If you’re not you could end up losing several stacks. Then your mindset is gonna be bad and you’re going to play bad but if you don’t want to change tables then take a stand against him. Be ok if it doesn’t work. Make sure you are playing with a BR that can sustain it.

From a math perspective if he is doing this with all pocket pairs, suited aces, and suited broadways it’s not a negative EV play. AQ against a maniac range should be mathematically correct to 4bet in that spot BU vs SB. You catch the A close your eyes and put the stacks in. Maybe even ship on a bluff if you miss. That is probably the best way to shut down a 3betting maniac.

This advice is from an experience in an extreme situation. It shouldn’t be part of your regular strategy but I’m sure you know that.

Attack the 36/12 villain's loose pre-flop calling range preferably always in position. That will make his life miserable and get him out of his comfort zone. He will adjust by open-limping less. It's hard to deduce when exactly this occurs, but within 1-2 times you raise his limp probably does the trick. When he stops open-limping, you can be sure the next time he open limps it will be at the top of the limp range, just beyond the raising range. You can then re-trap by actually open-raising his open limp with a strong hand like AA or AK. Of course this is a perfect best-case scenario.

So he tilted you, you played bad, got there, and that's justice? Amazing view of the world.

Yes. He 3bet me almost every time I RFI (not just me, he was 3betting maniacally). This went on for about an hour and the 3bets I called were missing the flop. He couldn’t of had a run that good. He was 3betting just to 3bet I’m sure.

He happened to have an ok hand when I made that frustrated shove. I say ok because AJ is just ok.

Considering how I could of had better Ax, paired broadways, etc if I’m shoving he made a bad call when he called my shove.

So yes it was justice. Perspective is reality.