how to play on a table full of maniacs?

[Fabiano 0]

i play on this live game here in o-town (2/5 nlhm) and ive been having the hardest time this past month, we've got a crew full of "gamblers, raising preflop 50 and showing 10 6 of hearts. there's a preflop raise (substantial i might add) on every single hand. i ve tried playing extra tight and i break even. not worth the 4/5 hours spent.so, all you poker virtuosos out there, help me out!id really apreciate advice on how to play them. its tough not having poker playing friends cuz you never get a new idea for a good strategy or anything like that.thank youFabiano

[Vade 0]

See, you want to play tight but not TOO tight.Make sure you're playing big hands that are marginal such as any suited A, and KQ offsuit.You usually want these maniacs in a heads up scenario.

[Guest XXEddie]

See, you want to play tight but not TOO tight.Make sure you're playing big hands that are marginal such as any suited A, and KQ offsuit.You usually want these maniacs in a heads up scenario.

excatly, just be patient

[Stewy 0]

If you extremely certain that there will be a button raise every time limp in with AA and KK the first chance you get and reraise all in. You will get great odds as a 4-1 favorite and next time you limp in it will be in the back of their minds. Might help you see some cheap flops if you catch them a couple times. You have probably thought of this but just a suggestion that I love to do on a crazy table if I can get the cards to do it. Another thing you could do is the squeeze play although it's a little risky, If you are certain they are raising with crap and you have enough chips try the squeeze play on a flop that looks scary.

[jack24bauer24 0]

If the game is being played with a bunch of maniacs, tighten up even more.The odd time you get aa kk qq or ak or whatever it will already be raised up a lot, just go all in, you'll take down more than the money you've given away in your blinds.You either tighten up or just start making a ton of huge raises.

[Fabiano 0]

hey guys, thanks for the responses.i will try limping in on early position and see if that pays me off. Once i see their respecting my limp ins ill start playing regular cards again.daniel probably doesnt even have time to read all these but if you happen to glance over this one, can you please post your thoughts?thanksFabiano

[MikeThk 0]

Fabiano:In games where people are raising WAY too much for their hands, you are a lock to be a winner if you play extremely tight. If you only played AA, KK, QQ, AK I'm very confident you'd be a huge winner in this game as long as people don't figure out what you're doing (and then you start bluffing). It is boring to play this way, and you can probably find other more marginal spots to make money, but if you just want a safe way of making some dollars, supertight is the way to go in this type of game.

[fluxer 0]

hey guys, thanks for the responses.i will try limping in on early position and see if that pays me off. Once i see their respecting my limp ins ill start playing regular cards again.daniel probably doesnt even have time to read all these but if you happen to glance over this one, can you please post your thoughts?thanksFabiano

It depends... if you have the correct bankroll (20 x $500 = $10,000) then I would play with a loose aggressive style. If you play really tight in this type of game then you are probably wasting your time, as you said.I mention your bankroll when I say loose aggressive because you will have some swings but you probably wont have as many swings as your oponents. Also, when I say loose aggressive, I don't mean making crazy bluffs etc, I mean playing your cards with the utmost care and analytical thought (that's where you get your edge, you analyze your cards and the situation better than your gambling oponents).If you don't have a bankroll of 20 buy ins, then try your tight game but loosen it up a little. If you play tight, however, your oponents will probably feel like they are in the drivers seat most of the time, unfortunately.

[JaysonWeber 0]

If your bankroll is large enough to be playing in this game, then you can play against these guys correctly.. if not.. continue playing your rock game..These guys VP$IP from what you're saying is very high... so that allows you to play a few more hands, ussually in a loose game like this you're going to NEED position, playing your rock hands (limping or raising small depending on how they react to your raises) once you get near the button 1 off of it, open up the hands you play and use the flop against them, play hands that you wouldn't necesarrily play against another rock but would consider playing against a maniac. Now this can really crush you because even maniac's pick up good hands, pay attention to them and try to focus on picking up some tells when they raise. You'll want to put them to a decision pre-flop, re-raising them often from the button, use the button to your advantage, its where you will win most of your money, so for that reason play more hands there (I am truly a button nut.. I play a LOT of hands from the button). If you have the bankroll re-raise these guys, get in there with K-10, Q-10 etc.. Its worth a try, do it one night and see how it goes... This type of game should be one you could crush on certain nights and break even when the cards dont run your way, make them fear you, become the one guy at the table they know is going to make them pay a lot of money.I think the ultimate compliment is someone who tightens up when you put chips in the middle... try this out next time, using position to punish them for these types of raises...

[Alcatraz 0]

I had an online game tonight with a drunk maniac, raising any two cards most of the time.I sat back and waited for premium hands, then would raise all in and isolate him. At one point he had over 100 dollars in front of him (at at .15/.25 game) and I slowly ground him down. Once my stack was bigger than his, any time I entered the pot I came in for the exact size of his stack. He folded to most of those plays but I was scooping up blinds and limpers left and right. Eventualy he busted out, but not until I ran my 10 bucks up to over 60.

[KDawgCometh 2]

the key to this question is how many people are seeing the flop withh all of the raises. I feel that the lip reraise with your monster hands is definetly recomended like everyome said. Patience is what's gonna help you here. You'll be able to get value out of your second pair very often in this type of game. If there are 4 people seeing the flop then you should open it up to using Ax &Kx suited cards as the high implied oidds dictate that you could very well triple up. Suited conectors pretty much have to be ruled out outside of 109s or J10s. High suited Broadways go way up in value here. The game is loose, but don't be a rock, your gonna need to mix it up to get maximum value in this game, and DON"T BLUFF. It just won't work im this type of game

[Smasharoo 0]

Play AA, KK, QQ and nothing else and limp reraise all in and count your money.Boring, but the goal is to make money, right?If you're really getting that much action pre-flop, there's no reason to play other hands for a lot of bets pre-flop.