Tactics for curtailing Maniac on my left

For a start, get comfortable in multiway pots because that's a common feature (not a bug) of soft games. Favour hands which will do well in multiway pots i.e. suited especially Axss and medium to big pairs. Avoid playing hands like KJo if you're going to be multiway and OOP.

You haven't really explained how this guy is a maniac, if he just calls all the time he's bad at poker. You don't have to do much adjusting unless you're always in hands with him. If he rarely raises and isos, you can't re-raise, so don't worry about it, just be tight and play a strong range against him. If he does a lot of iso-ing but rarely 3bets, then you can do a lot of limping, don't fold to a single raise and have some re-raises in there.

To emphasize more what the guy above me said, get comfortable with limping—both limping to call and limping to raise. If you can do it right, sitting with a maniac on your left can be extremely profitable.

You don't see it, but you have the best seat possible. It would be the worst seat if he was on your direct right.

Do a ton of limping, with the intention of doing a lot of limp-raising. You'll also need to have some limp-folds in order to not be face-up, so you'll have to limp some speculative hands you'd otherwise fold under normal circumstances, and some decent hands you may need to fold if other players start blasting off. The good news is you'll avoid some tough spots holding what will usually be 2nd-best hands.

Like, if your normal open range from a position is 77+/AK-AT/A5s, but now you limp, and there's a raise, and a 3B, you'll have to fold some fairly strong hands. Don't level yourself into thinking you can 4B with JJ/TT, or even QQ/AK. At most, you might limp-cold-call with some of those hands, and only 4B AA/KK. You'll also need to start limping some worse hands, knowing you'll fold if someone raises, and end up folding a lot post when you don't improve.

He's playing too wide, so the rest of the table is VPIP'ing a little wider than they otherwise would because they have position on him, and each player in succession is being laid better odds to come along with a progressively wider range. But someone often has a hand they want to raise, which they'll do, affording you an opportunity to put in an obnoxious back-raise and scoop a bloated pot uncontested, or minimally put a ton of pressure on him and the rest to fold. Bonus if the raiser you're 3B'ing is in the blinds and you'll have position post-flop.

Like, imagine seeing 4-5 opponents limp in, and looking down at 99 on the BTN. You're not going to raise? Of course you are. Now imagine what you'd do if the guy to the right of the maniac puts in a chunky 3B, like 9x-10x your open size, which was already bigger because of all the limpers. Your 99 is probably going right in the muck, unless you're playing super-deep and you want to set-mine.

You'll need to think about your back-raising range. If there's just a single raise over a bunch of limps, it can be wider than you'd think. It depends on the configuration, stack depths, raise size, and your reads on the raiser / limpers. Be wary of getting caught back-raising when there are competent and aware players who over-limp. The good ones will also have some limp-traps, even from some later positions. Over-fold if you limp-raise and someone back-raises on you.

Other tactics - raise and bet bigger with thick value and your highest equity draws. Over-fold thin value and low-equity draws to his aggression post (in fact, over-fold those to anyone's aggression, any time he was involved pre, and especially post). Trap more. Feign weakness by taking lines with some checks in them, particularly on turns after c-betting flops as the PFR (assuming he tends to float flops too wide and over-stab turns when action checks to him). Don't be too quick to raise him when you have a strong hand and he's betting.

Maniacs will put you to the test whenever they're involved in the pot. Don't fight fire with fire by getting into battles with them while holding marginal hands. You need to save your ammunition and pick your spots to drop a big ole bomb on them.

Understand that when you're VPIP'ing speculative hands pre, you're going to make some sneaky-strong hands when you smash the flop. So you'll have opportunities to snap them off or stuff it in their face.

They like being the aggressor. They want you to submit. Let them be the aggressor. Make it look like you're submitting. Then hit them with the sneaky uppercut they never see coming.

Watch for sizing tells, especially in spots which you think would be over- or under-bluffed. Maniacs will do a high volume of betting, but they instinctively understand that they don't have as much fold equity, and so they tend to size up with their value and down with their bluffs.

If your maniac is betting huge, especially in an under-bluffed spot, even if you can't figure out what he'd be betting for value, you need to over-fold. Don't muck face up, and if he shows a bluff, tap the table and say "well played". If he's betting small, especially in a spot that may be over-bluffed, or where he may have a ton of bluffs in his range (and maniacs typically do), you need to over-call, even with some marginal holdings.

Balance those thin check-calls by not donking rivers with thick value in spots where you'd expect other opponents to just check back. The maniac will over-bluff and bet razor-thin in spots others wouldn't, because the maniac doesn't know how to range his opponents. He uses aggression to compensate for a lack of skill, creativity, and awareness. He bets because he doesn't know what else to do with thin value. He doesn't know if he should be polar or merged. You should check to him a lot, with a range that will have a lot of check-raises in it.

You can bluff the maniac, but you need to be precise, and choose your spots. Wait for him to bet small. Don't assume he's weak when he checks back. The maniac also has a lot of traps, because he'll make some sneaky-strong hands of his own, when he's VPIP'ing so wide. His value range is going to bet big or trap. His bluffs and weak value are usually going to bet small. You should be pouncing on his small bets by raising.

Nothing crushes a maniac's soul more than going bet-bet-bet with a busted 7-high flush draw and getting snapped off by an opponent with ace-high or bottom pair. Even better when you check the nuts to him, he bets big, you raise huge, and he snaps you off for piles with the 2nd best hand. Even when he folds after you raise over one of his bluffs, it's demoralizing to him, and he's likely to tilt, which is amazing for the game.

Adding to the above - the maniac doesn't just play to win money, he plays to cause pain. Very often, the money isn't important to them. Their motivations are psychological.

While their play is characterized by what appears to be blind aggression, maniacs can be fairly perceptive when it comes to interpreting their opponents' actions. If an opponent takes a strong line, they'll over-fold. If it looks like an opponent may be slow-playing, they'll proceed with caution.

It can be frustrating when a maniac folds when we bet our hand for value or doesn't bet when we check to induce. The maniac can be elusive in that way.

The way to beat them is to turn their aggression against them. They don't like backing down, and they're mistrustful, so they tend to VPIP too wide pre and float too wide on the flop, hoping to improve or for a chance to steal the pot, but they'll over-fold to continued aggression on later streets.

When they show up on later streets with too wide a range, the way to extract value isn't to bet again, targeting the top of their weak / wide range. They'll raise or trap with their nutted hands when we bet. The way to extract is to slow down and bet small or check / check-back, to induce them to bet everything in their range, with their usual sizing tells.

Yes, we'll sometimes miss value when we're nutted and they check back, but that will set us up to confidently bet river with thin value, or get to showdown with some weaker hands that couldn't withstand heat, yet still end up winning.

Put the pressure back on the maniac by taking some pot-control lines with a wide range of SDV, thin value, thick value, nutted value, and draws. Do a lot of betting for value on early streets, and a lot of checking with value on later streets. Do the opposite with draws / semi-bluffs. Check early streets, and bet big / bluff later streets.

Force him to decide how to respond when we raise pre, c-bet flop, and check turn, or when we limp pre, check-call flop, x/r turn or donk river. He'll know what to do with the best and worst hands in his range, but he'll make a ton of mistakes with the rest of his range.

Thanks Docvail - some really useful tips there using the limp / reraise strategy - this is of course assuming there is a raise after the maniac calls which often is not the case in this game - when it gets called around its almost then just whoever hits the flop that generally scoops the pot.

How can i play the maniac in more heads up pots though when it often gets called around after i limp then maniac just calls? Do i try increasing my opening raise size, particularly from early position when a number of players are left to act after the maniac calls my raise.

No. As the guy above me said, you should abandon your hope of trying to get heads-up.

As a thought experiment, let’s say that you are sitting 2 seats to the maniac’s left. Now let’s say the guy on his right raises a strong opening range, and the maniac calls almost 100% of hands. What is good strategy for you with most of your speculative hands? Is it to say: “Well, I have to respect the raise from the good player, so I need to let him play HU with the maniac”? No it most definitely is not! You want to get in there with a lot of hands that have semi-decent equity plus a chance to take big bets from the maniac postflop. And depending on stack sizes, the guy on the maniac’s right increasing his raise size would not exactly make you more elastic, since you’re calling to play the maniac, not the good player.

This is the likely thought process of people who are overcalling after the maniac calls an open from you. You can’t fight it. You need to get used to it. When this guy is in the game, everyone is playing to bust him. You should include yourself in that and play in the way that is most likely to bust the maniac before someone else does. But in this case that does not mean trying to “iso”.

I don’t do the limping thing - it’s another entire range to study & implement, so I avoid it and stick to what I know. Not a critic, just not my thing.

My problem with a good player to the left is that they 3bet and make me fold. I never mind them tagging along. Not sure you’re using the right label as I consider a maniac as loose/very aggressive.

It sounds like you just need to open larger. I open 15/20 in a 1/3 game. Try opening 30/35 to reduce the field.

I’m not sure why you’re worried about getting heads up with this guy.

For the most part, there’s nothing you can do about playing multiway other than get good at it. You might open 50 and get 3 callers.

My view is that maybe you’re letting this guy get in your head. You focus on the ‘situation’ first, then whether villain’s playing style affects your decision.

If you’re saying he’s calling everything trying to out play you, then simply tighten up a lot OOP and play stronger ranges overall.

An exploit that I frequently use is to float certain players pre and on the flop, because they are honest on the turn. I know that if they bet the turn, I must fold and if they check, I bet pot and they fold. Be sure you’re not falling into predictable patterns.

Ultimately, you get better in poker, by asking better questions. We’re in this together looking for answers and trying to improve.

Don't focus on getting heads up. When he's on your direct left, you'll be OOP 90% of the time anyway.

Focus instead on maximizing EV. Take down more pots pre, and play more fit or fold post, especially in multi-way pots.

Save your ammo. Avoid marginal spots. Go for max value / max fold equity.

Don't fight aggression with aggression. It's a dance. He likes to lead. Let him lead. Turn his aggression back on itself by letting him make mistakes, while you're just playing off whatever he does.

When you'll be OOP to him almost all the time, think in terms of playing more pots, but generally smaller pots that you'll frequently win with medium strong hands. Then look for spots to go HAM with the nuts and you can cooler him.

Check a lot. Make him bet and barrel with all the trash in his range, unless he wants to give up and let you win with the bottom of yours. He won't know what to do when you're checking everything to him.

Doesn't seem like much of a maniac if he's flatting a lot. How does he play post flop? That's where you need to make the adjustment, and you might want to adjust your preflop range to fit whatever you change there.

Limping is just going to lead to playing a lot more small multiway pots.

In general, if the player to your left is better at playing post flop then you, you are going to lose money and the only solution is to get better post flop and at least hold your own vs him or find a new game.

Don't limp good stuff pre, playing QQ 4 ways in a $100 pot is challenging, but vastly superior to playing a $35 limped pot 7 ways.

Being directly on the right is the best place to be. Open your entire continuing range for small size (don't limp). You don't need to flop a set to call down.

I feel this is another definitional thing like OMC.

I think of a Mainiac as like 50/40/20 plus pre, and post is constantly betting and raising ane very rarely calling or folding.

Calling a lot pre does not seem like a mainiac.

limp/rr strategy is good up until about 150bb, maybe even 200bb. but once you get over 200bb it really is quite bad for you to have a player on your left flatting a ton. The reality is that he is making a -EV play, but his -EV play also causes you to lose EV. He ends up giving both of your EV to the other players at the table. I would not play this set up if I was over 200bb deep, and I would whine to the game runner to try and get randomized seats or smthn.

I tend to agree with this - late in the night most stacks are in excess of 200bb making my out of position to action player a little awkward and as you say giving other players +EV.