It takes considerable skill to play effectively against such an opponent. However, when done well, it can be very profitable. I had just such an experience. I was playing an online no-limit hold’em game on a site that was recommended to me by lucky-7-bonus.ca and one player was such a maniac, often going all-in before the flop. The way he was playing, he may have been on tilt.

Those of you who have followed my column through the years will note that normally I much prefer playing limit hold’em in live games. I was playing online in this instance because I was still uncomfortable playing in live games since the coronavirus pandemic began. In this particular online game, we played for points –  not real money.

Over the long run you can expect fewer than 25 percent of your hole cards to be playable – worthy of investing your chips. But this “maniac” played every hand he was dealt. He won small pots – the blinds – when all of the other players folded to his big bets before the flop. On one occasion, an opponent called his all-in and beat him out when he connected on the flop. Maniac folded without revealing his hand. Then he promptly bought in again for another $1,000.

What would you do in this case?

Maniac was seated to my right, so he acted every hand just before me. He was in the cut-off position, and I was the button. A few players before him had limped in to see the flop. Then he pulled his all-in move. I studied my hole cards – pocket Aces. My hand was well ahead of his. As you may know, pocket aces become an underdog if more than three opponents stay in the pot. Fortunately, I was well ahead. So, I responded to the maniac by going all-in myself. All of the other players folded their hands, leaving us heads-up.  It was no surprise when I won the pot – a huge one!

READ ALSO: Poker Tips by George: Betting Patterns

That did not change the maniac’s ways. After a few hands, he was back to going all-in. This time, I was in the hijack position, again with the maniac to my right. Once again, maniac went all-in before the flop. This time I held A-Q off-suit. With only two limpers, I again went all-in, so it was heads-up again. Neither of us improved our hands and I was pleased to take a huge pot once again.

The next day, a loose player who seemed to be on tilt went all-in from a middle position. The players before me all folded so, with a strong starting hand and lots more chips, I again went all-in and took another huge pot with only a small improvement.

It is so much fun when you win big pots, especially against a maniac – or a player who plays like one when he is on tilt.

I label such a player a BIG maniac. He open bets, raises or reraises almost every hand. He craves “action” – lots of betting and raising, leading to bigger pots. A SMALL maniac is more discrete, but still open bets, raises/reraises at a relatively high rate.

It’s easy to recognize a big maniac because of the high frequency of his raises/reraises – practically every hand. Often, he is also a loose player, staying to see the flop with almost every hand dealt to him. Label him a LAG (loose-aggressive) maniac. He may also be a chaser – playing hands with just a few outs. It is harder to identify a small maniac.

I do not advocate that you become a maniac. It is important to learn how best to play against them, and even take advantage of their raises when the situation is right.

Maniacs are bound to experience more ups and downs than other players. Big maniacs usually go home big losers. Small maniacs have better self-control and often win, regardless of whether they’re playing at new casinos or more established gaming venues.

Advice for Playing Against a Maniac

Position is important

If you are seated to a maniac’s right, pay to see the flop only if your hand can stand a raise. If there is a second maniac at your table, expect to be whip-sawed with multiple raises after you call to see the flop. That makes the game much too costly for serious players. Ask the dealer for a seat change. It is best to be seated to the left of the maniac. While waiting for your seat change, play only premium made and drawing hands. A table change may be better.

READ MORE: Top 10 Reasons to Request a Seat Change

Use the two-step concept

Should you stay to see the flop, then your hand must show significant improvement. Be prepared to fold if you do not catch a made hand – top pair on the board, two-pair or better; or a drawing hand with lots of good outs – an open-ended straight draw (8 outs) or four-to-a-flush (9 outs).

Take advantage of the maniac

This applies only when you are dealt a powerful starting hand. After the maniac makes his raise, a reraise (a 3-bet) can help you by forcing out some of your opponents. Thinning the field, your hand has a better chance of keeping the lead; alternatively, should they all fold, you will get heads-up against the maniac, whose hand is almost certain to be far inferior to yours. Your edge.

When the maniac does not raise

That is not his playing style, so it is likely he has a really strong starting hand. Of course there are exceptions to every rule but typically this tends to be a good time to muck your hand – unless it, too, is powerful. The maniac may be trying to trap several opponents by check-raising. That is all to your benefit when the flop improves your hand.

With a maniac at your table, volatility – the ups and downs of the game – will be much greater. You will need a bigger bankroll to sustain yourself until the swings start to move in your favor.

Alternatively, you would be wise to avoid playing at tables with a maniac in the first place.

The best poker players in the world each have their own unique playing habits and strategy. Generally speaking, however, you’ll find a few standard types of playing styles out there that we’ll briefly describe below.

Tight Aggressive

This poker style is also known as TAG. It is considered to be the style of choice for the majority of winning players. The main attributes of this style include extremely selective starting hands. Bluffing is not really part of the strategy since only 18 to 25 percent of the hands are played. The aggressive approach kicks in once post-flop play begins. This approach favors betting and raising as opposed to checking and calling.

Loose Aggressive

The next winning style is referred to as LAG. More losing players are linked to this style. However, the ones that know how to perfect this strategy tend to win more than a typical player using the TAG style. The primary difference is playing far more hands pre-flop. The play rate for the LAG style increases to 23 to 30 percent on dealt hands. This will obviously lead to greater losses over the extended course of play. LAG is also tied to the aggressive approach to playing out the hand post-flop.

Nit/Rock

This third style reflects tightness. It is very similar to the TAG style, with an even more limited selection of played hands. The nit/rock is willing to wait things out until the cards fall their way in the pre-flop. This style has grown in popularity with the increased competitiveness built into online poker. That said, these types of players lack the overall skill set that many of the top poker players in the game possess. Another characteristic is the fear of losing money. Since their range of play is rather limited, the overall win rate with this style remains low. After all, it’s relatively easy to spot a rock, and thus avoid tangling with such a player if they start making moves.

Maniac

Poker players adopting this style have been described as hyper-aggressive LAG. With a much higher pre-flop play rate and a highly aggressive trait of betting and raising post-flop, these players have a tendency to both win big and lose big. The true maniac will play more than 30 percent of their dealt hands. This range can even go as high as 50 percent! This is why this style results in far more losses. It is hard to find a maniac who can win at poker over long-term play.

Conclusion

It’s thought that the best style of the four is TAG, as it offers the best balance between overall profitability tied to a higher level of playing skill. The LAG style can actually create a higher win rate, of course, but the risk/reward factor is highly elevated. The maniac style is the most interesting, but to be successful it takes a very high level of poker playing skill. At the end of the day, you need to select the style that best fits your personality, and also be prepared to mix things up a little. Knowing how to identify the styles of other players at the table is a critical skill, too.