Playing Like A Maniac

Ok boys and girls, I've been really really busy with a whole bunch of personal stuff lately so I apologize for not updating. At first I went through a little period where I just lost interest in the game. Playing so much limit, I started to become mechanical which was dangerous for two reasons; I wasn't evaluating my play to look for potential holes or places I could improve, and I was just plain getting bored as I just wasn't getting a whole lot of joy out of playing. If you ever find yourself falling into a rut like this, take a break. If you're not having fun, there's no point in playing. If you're not critically evaluating your own play, it's only a matter of time before it begins to deteriorate. If you're getting bored with a game, you're not going to be able to focus as well, which is one huge reason why it is important to play different variations of poker, not just NLHE or whatever you're comfortable with.

So anyway, I took some times off, focused on other things for a while and now for the past week I've been playing steadily again. I know previously I primarily focused on Limit Hold 'Em. Since I've returned however, I've begun to play quite a bit of low stakes NLHE shortanded ring games. These games are generally pretty soft and the players are usually pretty easy to put on hands, so I decided to experiment with a new strategy; playing as a maniac.
Anyone who plays me knows I am a very aggressive player by nature, so this seemed to me to be a logical progression in my game. There are many advantages to using this style effectively.

First of all, a lot of players, especially at low limit, are not very good at putting people on hands, meaning they will simply see you are aggressive and you have a good chance of getting paid off if you catch a hand and they're fed up with you bullying the table. Second of all, a lot of players at lower limits do not really know how to deal with an aggressive player who is capable of making good folds. Most will just sit back and wait for a hand and then hope the aggressive player bets into them and pays them off. If you can play a super aggressive style, yet at the same time are able to make tough laydowns, inexperienced or bad players really do not have a lot of recourse against you.

Finally, poker is a game of comfort levels. If you can take a player out of his or her comfort zone and make them play in an environment they are not accustomed to, you make them face situations they aren't familiar with. Basically to put it simply; if you make people make tough decisions they haven't made before, they tend to fuck up... a lot. I've never said I was a great or even good poker player, but if you put me at a table and I am able to push the people at that table out of their comfort zone, I will win damn near everytime. You don't have to be good to do that, you just have to know what you're doing and have everyone else not know. All of the sudden your opponents become defensive and reactive and they're not having fun. They're not thinking clearly and they're not making you make tough decisions.

Now, all of that being said, playing like a maniac successfully is like walking a tightrope. This style lends itself to big swings. This style means you have to be willing to pump up a pot and then fold if you think you're beat. It also means you have to be decent at putting another player on a hand. Most importantly you have to walk a fine line between aggressive and stupid. You want the table to think you're a very loose player, but you don't want them to think that because you're making bad calls, playing at the wrong pots, or raising with just any two cards out of position. It's definitely madness, but there is damn sure a method to it. Oh yeah, and I don't advocate doing any of this shit in a full ring game otherwise you're just asking for an ass-whooping.

First of all position is huge. If I'm on the button or even one off in an unopened pot, two paint cards are a monster, I'm raising preflop. Second, speculative hands are huge. I'm raising unopened pots with suited connects and even some offsuit connects in any position. Third, fear the raise or reraise preflop. People know you like to play hands, they want to punish you for it, don't let them. I'm not saying if you make it a buck to go and someone makes it 1.75 fold preflop, but be ready to muck on the flop when you call and don't hit. Play your draws aggressively and don't let people get free cards ever, ever, EVER... fuckin ever. Classic example which happens quite frequently at lower limits, I raise preflop to $1, my standard raise. Flop comes out and someone bets .25. I don't care if I have 7 fucking 2 I'm coming back over the top, if they reraise that, maybe I'll slow down. Basically people win pots when you let them, it's that simple. Some players advocate that the money in the pot is in the pot, it doesn't belong to anyone. When I'm playing this style it's more like "that's my money, I'm taking it, and you can't have any unless I let you." If someone has a hand that I don't feel confident that I can get them to lay down, I'll let them win, otherwise, tough shit, ship it. Once again though, this makes the ability to read your opponents essential. If you're not confident in your reading ability, do not play this style.

Also, if you raise preflop, you keep firing until someone gives you a good reason not to. Your opponents should be the ones playing scared, not you. I will keep throwing out bets 60% to 80% of the pot until it becomes apparent I can not win the hand outright and my opponent will not lay it down. This brings up another point; don't be afraid of the Boogeyman. If the flop comes out suited, make your opponent convince you he or she hit. I'm not saying bet blindly, if you're beginning to get the sense he or she may have a hand, by all means relinquish the pot, but that pot is yours until you give it up.

I know some of you reading this prolly think I've finally lost it, and some of you prolly just think I'm a donk, and that's ok. I know this type of play is not for everyone, but I've recently found it to be very successful. I will probably be posting more on this in a few days but for now I'll leave you with this:

If you can ever force your opponents to either play your game and not theirs, or play for more money than they are comfortable with at any given time, you will have a distinct advantage over the rest of the table.