Know More About Pot Limit Omaha Poker Part 3: Maniac On The Loose

Having a maniac in the PLO table will bring out different reactions from the participants. Some will enjoy the maniac’s aggressive play while others will not be too happy having that kind of player in their midst. Well, lots of people have seen the rebellion coming, it’s just many poker players don’t want to get into a raising war with a maniac unless then have the coveted AAxx hand. They are not willing to welcome such behavior in their table and they show their difficulties as they complain about the maniac on the loose.

I’ll be giving examples below based on a maniac who always raises on the very first round and if there are limpers then he or she usually re-raises mostly 95% of the time. This type of maniac wanted to get it all before the flop shows.

Adopting in a table with a maniac should be strategically plotted similar to all poker decisions you make. You need to eliminate all the fixed notions you have about maniacs in the poker table, but you need to check it out at various angles.

Here are the three factors needed for your strategic adjustment:

The position you hold relative to the maniac
How the other players adjusted to the maniac
How you deal with large swings mentally

The first two go together and need to be thought as one.

You are in a strategic position relative to the maniac while all the other players loosened their play

If you are sitting on the left side of a maniac then you’re assuming that you can isolate them by re-raising. But if the other players will guess that you are doing isolation, then you need to make a more obscure way of doing it. Do it before they will re-pot and before you’ll find yourself folding you hand or heading into a 3 way all in, with mostly your own money on the pot.

If the players started to loosen up due to the presence of the maniac on the table then you’ll need to be careful of your next steps in order not to find yourself and the maniac by the other occupants.

You are in a strategic position relative to the maniac while the other players have not adjusted on his presence

If the other players don’t mind you and the maniac having a head to head encounter then start to re-raise to your heart’s content.

But be careful if somebody will re-raise you aside from the maniac. This only means that that person has a great powerful hand and that person is letting the loose cannon make the betting.

The maniac has position on you, and the table has loosened up

One of the greatest things you can do about this situation is to let the maniac do the betting for you; assuming that many players will also join the pot. This is the best situation when a maniac is in the table – people will tend to disagree but limping in and letting the maniac raise the pot plus getting a number of callers and diminishing the maniac by raising big is money straight to your pocket dead-on.

The maniac has position relative to you and the table has not adapted to his presence

If the participants has not loosened up even if the maniac is there then it’s time for you to start the raising and just anticipate that the maniac will re-raise, which of course will hopefully fold all the remaining players. And if you have a powerful hand then you can push the raising further or you can take a flop with enough money left.

I usually keep my raises and re-raises lower on Pot Limit games – I don’t want to be in the situation of a betting war against a maniac without a powerhouse hand. It’s better for me to help build a better pot as we go post flop and I wouldn’t be regretting my decisions even if I have to let go of the hand.

For example in a $2/$4 PLO and the buy-in is 400 then the usual raise would be $14 – in this situation I often bet lesser than the usual about $8-$10 or I will just re-raise the minimum amount so that I won’t be betting a lot of money before the flop opens.

So if the maniac decided to open a $14 bet then I would re-raise the minimum of $28 which will make me a choice to let go of the hand if a locksmith re-raise after me, then I will call the maniac’s 3-betof $90 heads-up or $118 if there is another caller – resulting in a $300 money left in my hands – then I can re-pop the bet to $276 or $300 going to an all-in bet.

But if you re-pot the maniac first bet making it $48, then you would be gambling more than 10% of your chips. If a locksmith re-raise you then it you need to fold and if you’re calling the maniac’s 3-bet resulting to $150 – it will be a big deduction to your chips.

The aforementioned methods are just guides in how to deal with a maniac in the PLO table because each maniac is different – they should be treated according to their level.