How to Play Against Maniacs at the Poker Table
A maniac is a LAG with the brakes cut: constant betting and raising, huge sizings, and little connection between their aggression and their actual hand. They create chaos, and chaos feels hard to play against. It is not, if you stay disciplined.
Let them do the betting
You never need to bluff a maniac. They are already putting money in for you. Your job is to have a hand when the pot gets big and let their aggression fill it. Trying to bluff or out-raise a maniac is lighting money on fire.
Widen your value range, a lot
Against normal players, you need a strong hand to stack off. Against a maniac, top pair or an overpair is often a monster, because their betting range is stuffed with bluffs and weak hands. Call down, and let them barrel. Hands you would fold elsewhere become clear calls.
Do not bloat pots with marginal hands
The trap is calling three big barrels with a hand that beats bluffs but nothing else, out of position, and getting to a river guess for stacks. Pick the hands that can comfortably get to showdown, and pot-control the truly marginal ones by checking rather than betting into the buzzsaw.
Be willing to wait
Maniacs swing wildly and often bust themselves. You do not have to win it all in one hand. Tighten up, let them spew, and be there with a real hand when they inevitably overcommit. Patience is the entire strategy.
When a maniac slows down, believe it
The rare time a maniac actually checks or calls passively instead of blasting away, pay attention. It often means they finally have something, or nothing they want to fire. Adjust to the behavior in front of you.
Against a maniac, boredom is the enemy, not the maniac. Fold your junk, wait for a hand, and cash their chips.
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