Let the maniac do your betting

I had been on this guy's left for about 20 hands and it was so clear that he was a maniac. He played almost every hand and raised just about every pot as well. If anyone would check to him he would bet big and people would fold their marginal hands. His stack's not exactly indicative of his play because he called an all-in with only a gutshot and one card to come and he made the wheel to double through a guy with two pair. So I folded to him a few times, which is why I was under my $25 buy-in. But then the following hand came up, and it's not the greatest hand ever, but it shows how a maniac who is desperate to not lose a pot can just shove with reckless abandon, praying (or assuming) the other player would fold like a cheap tent. Plus this gives me a chance to use the Pokerhandreplays.com tool.

Gotta love having him turn over his cards and know he was drawing dead. And the quads on the end was pretty sweet, if not overkill. A few hands later he got it all-in A7 vs. my QQ and I cleaned him out. When he left I typed in the chat box: It was only a matter of time boys.

The moral of the story? If you have a maniac at your table, be sure to have him on your right and then let him bet your monsters.

-- Chris

Comments

[gadzooks64]

Oh, sure. You win with that hand?!?!?!

Talk about a thin value bet... d'oh.

I was hoping to see drama! Excitement! Sitting on pins & needles wonder if the "hero" was going to make it out alive.

Yawn.

NH, GG. Next time show me a good story with some drama.

This would never make HOW. Just saying.

[Snuffy]

Don't separate your shoulder patting yourself on the back.

[Christopher Cosenza]

Yeah, I have to admit it was just a hand to use that cool replay thingy. But I still loved winning that pot!!! And where's it say that every hand I put on here has to be analyzed? 8-)

[Snuffy]

Just don't type that after u bust him. Kinda douchey.

[Christopher Cosenza]

He was gone. I didn't type it while he was there, wouldn't want to scare him off. He left when I felted him. Oh, and aren't you the last person to say what's Deutschy? LOL!

[Erwin Blonk]

There is this guy on the iPoker network in pot limit Omaha, he raises the pot pre-flop 100%. When I had him on my left (where I like the maniacs) I just waited for a good hand. Sure enough, he did not fail to do the betting for me. Won twice, lost once, made some good money.
At one point I observed him, he had $140 in front of him at a $20 max table. Within half an hour, he lost it all, rebought and kept going - no matter what was typed in the chatbox.

[mn156]

I've had a guy show up at a NL$100 table and shove every hand if it wasn't raised to him. I did a player search and saw that he was also playing a few $5/$10 HU NL tables and apparently was here just blowing off steam. He dropped 3 or so buy-ins and left. Good times indeed!

[Ben Eliass]

Sad. Just really, really sad when bad middle aged micro(supermicro)players get excited and berate people when making quads. No wonder you havent cracked 50 nl after 5 years....

[Chi-Guy]

Wow!

Chris is getting killed here. Lay off a bit guys, he puts in alot of time with this Blog and Podcast. He is bound to share a story we don't appreciate once in a while. I guess we'll never seen anything like this on the blog again.

Chris, you played the hand like a genius. Kind of hard to miss play top set with no possible draws anywhere on the board though.

Brian

[Lee]

I was playing .25/.50 PLO on Full Tilt this weekend, and after I won a $150 pot from the table villain, I typed this into the chat box:

"mmm"
"ur money tastes like chicken"

:)

[Rant2112]

I love this blog post. More please. Seriously funny stuff (the comments are funny I mean).

[Christopher Cosenza]

That was a good one Ben. And I appreciate that you didn't post anonymously. Of course you're a one-time poster who probably won't even see this response, but I'll post it anyway.

I've had plenty of success in much higher limits (especially live), but I've made a conscience choice to play microlimits online for experimentation and control of my bankroll. Too many 1-outers have been hit against me online to continue playing $1-2 NLHE or higher. It's just too easy to keep rebuying.

Are you in the habit of reading blogs by middle-aged bad poker players? Probably not since you've never posted before.

And I didn't berate anyone (unlike YOUR comment). He was long gone when I typed that. It was a matter-of-fact comment that everyone at the table was thinking, wishing they had picked up the hands to take his stack.

I honestly put this hand up to sneak in the replay widget. I had no idea it would elicit such a response. Flame on!

[MacDaddyo]

Mr Ben, I think we all know, especially after the Race for the Hundy, that Fasso is the middle aged one on this blog. Chris is still officially a "young man" or "thirysomething" and has the victory in the race to prove it!

As far as him being a "bad" player, well he ended up with all this guy's money, so I'd say he did pretty well. Chris, like the rest of us in Ante Up Nation, is a player who does not consider himself an expert or pro, but has a desire and dedication to making himself a better player while playing a game he truly enjoys. Making a personal comment after a player he busted leaves the table is his right, in fact it may have even helped his table image from that point on!

Last but not least, the stakes that someone plays at have NOTHING to do with their ability as a player or their total bankroll. People play at the stakes that makes the game enjoyable for them. Bill Gates still occasionally plays poker in Las Vegas when he's there for an industry conference. His game of choice: $3-$6 Limit Hold 'Em.

[aces88ss]

And Ben, what's wrong with being middle aged...I am nostalgic for my middle aged years.

Ya young whipper snapper

[pokerpeaker]

Actually, I like the idea of doing a blog on cool things to say after you've won a big pot. Bloggers (like Columbo) have taken offense to BOOOOOOOOOOM in our tourneys and yet others think it's funny.
As long as you're not being a jackass I think it's fun, especially if the guy is super-aggro or a jackass himself.
My three favorite things to say:
• "Justice"
• "I just doubled my bankroll!"
• "This game is easy."

[st]

"Gotta love having him turn over his cards and know he was drawing"

Drawing to what, a flush or quad threes on sixth street? What?

That said, that's a very cool little widget. Definitely keep using it for hand analysis posts.

[Mig]

lol. I second that. What was he drawing to?

[ron trout]

I think he left out the dead part.

[Chris Cosenza]

Yeah, I left out the dead part. I'll fix it. LOL!

[James from OZ]

I've never flopped quads

IN MY LIFE

Nice work Chris

[MichellefromCanada]

When I've just busted someone who's really jerky out of a tourney, I always type "I'm gonna miss him".

I gotta use the "tastes like chicken" line soon, I laugh every time I see it.

Hey Chris, I got no problems with your hand! It's good to remember not to get tricky with these guys, basic play will get them.