If you have ever sat at poker online games or watched a televised game, then you are probably aware that there are different types of players. You don’t have to be an expert to recognize them. It is really easy to notice that some players fold it all the time; others get involved with as many pots as possible. There are also some players who try to be the captain by raising constantly and putting pressure on others.
These different player profiles have different names and the one to define in this blog is the maniac type. If you are wondering what a maniac in poker is, they are a kind of player who doesn’t care about busting out and always tries to force the action. The other types can be sometimes difficult to recognize, but the maniacs are easy to spot. They will be there at the table splashing their chips around, calling rarely and always raising, at-risk constantly and also put other players to tough decisions.
Kinds of maniacs
Predictable maniacs
When these players play they bet, raise and re-raise every hand pre-flop and lot of hands-on the flop as well. You can’t read them of what they are holding as they do the same thing every time.
Opportunist maniacs
They act like predictable ones but they have a different thought pattern actually that inspires them to be very aggressive.
Erratic maniacs
These types of maniacs are tough to play against as you may have observed them being tight for the last hour and then start raising 3-4 hands in a row.
Professional maniacs
These players are the smartest, expert maniacs you will meet at the table. They will play ultra-aggressive purposely as they have studied others and will know if they are dealing with a lot of tight players.
Handling the poker maniacs
Probably the maniacs are the hardest profile of players to have at the table as it is almost impossible to predict their decisions at any given time. If you have a player who is all prepared to risk their stack to win even the smallest pots, how do you play against them?
If you think that playing aggressively with aggressive players is a good idea, then it’s not the best way unless you really have a premium hand. A maniac will also have a big hand occasionally and this is a trap that is easy to fall in due of their image.
So, the best way to handle these kinds of players is to let them hang themselves. It can be really annoying to sit around and wait for a good spot while they are running over the table, but keep in mind that it is just an illusion. They risk too much to gain too little and once you have the goods, they will surrender their whole stack.
Is there an upside to being a maniac?
In order to play the role successfully at the maniac of the table, you need to be aware of other players and be capable of valuing the opponent’s hands correctly. Although splashing chips around mindlessly will get you nowhere, so playing a manic style have some upsides.
This is true especially for the tournaments where players are reluctant to lose their stack and bust out so they will have a difficult time up to a maniac at the table. One player should make sure not to over-do it because, with this attitude and style, a single misstep can send you packing.