In this article, we will share three tips from poker pro Phil Galfond, who shares guides to play against Maniac. Maniacs are types of players who play too aggressively or adopt overly loose styles. They put you in a position where you think, “Does my opponent always have a good hand?”.
1. Putting Too Much Money On Each Street
Polarized Range is a range that includes both strong hands and relatively weak hands, which are AA, KK, AKs, KK, QQ, JJ, A5s, A4s, A3s, and A2s. These hands are both good for bluffs and love being raised because you know your hand has a good chance of improving in later streets or is already better than your opponent’s hand.
Bet strong hands like pocket aces, pocket kings, and ace-king on the flop, while also betting bluffs like A2s. A maniac player won’t overfold these bets, but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bluff occasionally. Maniac players aren’t clueless they will catch your bluff if they see you just always betting like you have the second nut. Play more polarized against maniacs.
2. Playing Against Players Who Are Too Aggressive
When you play against maniacs who put in too much money with good hands and don’t bluff that much, your go-to strategy should be to fold down your marginal hands. In case you have a good hand that can beat your opponent’s value range, then obviously call or go all-in. They will eventually give up their stack to you when you have a very good hand and they have a good hand.
When you see them check-call on the flop and turn, they don’t have the thin value hand that they’re supposed to have in their calling range. They will overfold and give you a good amount of chips, as they are already putting a lot of money pre-flop.
3. Playing Against Maniac Bluffers
These types of maniacs love to bluff if you give them any chance. They love to raise flop and turn with weak semi-bluffs, and strong semi-bluffs. They also love bluffing the river when you give them a check, or even bluffing the river when you bet small as well. Furthermore, they dislike facing large raises and prefer to exploit vulnerabilities.
It is pretty easy to beat them as they easily fold to big bets, while also giving away chips for free when you have made a hand. You already have a good hand and they bluff you, then just relax and let them take control.
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