Dealing with aggression from maniac players at the table

Had a session last night where a player was raising 70% of hands and shoving light. I found myself tightening up too much and waiting for premiums, but the blinds just ate me alive. How do you adjust your range when a complete maniac is sitting on your direct left? Do you widen your calling range or fight fire with fire?

you call at least two hands and see what he really has , based on that if he calls with random hands then ur best bet to check all in him with the least premium hand even A3 will do the job

exmoroccan said:

you call at least two hands and see what he really has , based on that if he calls with random hands then ur best bet to check all in him with the least premium hand even A3 will do the job

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I agree with observing how wide their showdown range actually is. Once you catch them showing up with complete air or total junk, it definitely makes the decisions easier.
However, shove-calling with a weak ace like A3 might be a bit too loose, especially if they are sitting on our direct left and hold position over us. I'd rather wait for slightly better blockers like AJ+ or medium pocket pairs to execute that strategy. But you're spot on about adjusting quickly once they show their cards!

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You have to widen up what you are willing to stack off with if its a maniac shoving alot pre. Its high variance but highly +EV.

The worst part is that these crazy players get really lucky; they end up winning hands with just any two cards. I usually wait for a good hand and call their all-in. You have to take the risk.

koalapanda said:

Had a session last night where a player was raising 70% of hands and shoving light. I found myself tightening up too much and waiting for premiums, but the blinds just ate me alive. How do you adjust your range when a complete maniac is sitting on your direct left? Do you widen your calling range or fight fire with fire?

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We would need to know what your calling range is normally. If V is raising 70% of hands how many players are calling them? By raise do you mean 3-4 bet? Are they raising limps?
When you say shoving light that means you saw their hands. If you get to see their hands you get to reverse engineer their actions. Once you do that that will allow you to build a strategy to beat them.

To reverse engineer hands we ask the standard questions When? In what positions do they raise? Why? Is there a reason for them raising--table is passive and does not 3 bet Players play face up post flop etc etc. Who? are they attacking the NITS? The AGGRos or only the Passives? What/ Is it any 2 cards in any seat or connected cards in position etc.

I dont quite understand the comment about the blinds "eating you alive"? This is a potential issue in a tournament, since blinds go up, and you have a finite amount of chips. But in a cash game you can always top up, and you only pay 1,5BB per orbit, unless there is an ante. Which is really not that much out of a 100BB starting stack.

So probably the issue was more, that the situation was annoying and did not allow you to play your normal game. And if you feel that way, then just go for a table change. One of the advantages of cash games is, that we can leave, whenever we want to, so no need to stay on a table, that play in a way, you do not like. If it was a tournament, and you had to stay, then the strategy is to open less hands but be more willing to stack off both preflop and postflop.

Nowadays I play mostly freerolls , so in freerolls I see far too many maniacs who play very aggressively, many times ATC . I don't play passively against them . I keep on playing by the book , maybe I'll try to lure his aggression towards me when I have a strong hand .

If you arent 3 betting these people with 25% of your range you are probably losing money.

If you 3 bet them 5% of the time they can just fold every time profitably knowing that you have AA, AK, KK or QQ

fundiver199 said:

I dont quite understand the comment about the blinds "eating you alive"? This is a potential issue in a tournament, since blinds go up, and you have a finite amount of chips. But in a cash game you can always top up, and you only pay 1,5BB per orbit, unless there is an ante. Which is really not that much out of a 100BB starting stack.

So probably the issue was more, that the situation was annoying and did not allow you to play your normal game. And if you feel that way, then just go for a table change. One of the advantages of cash games is, that we can leave, whenever we want to, so no need to stay on a table, that play in a way, you do not like. If it was a tournament, and you had to stay, then the strategy is to open less hands but be more willing to stack off both preflop and postflop.

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good solid cash game advice above--also we can get a seat change if this is live to get on their left or leave and return in a better seat online.

If a maniac is on my left, I usually avoid trying to out-crazy them. 😄 I tighten up my opening range a bit since I'm more likely to get played back at, but I'm also more willing to call them down when I have a decent hand because they tend to overbluff.

Patience is key. They'll usually give you plenty of opportunities to pick them off without having to force the action.

Station_Master said:

You have to widen up what you are willing to stack off with if its a maniac shoving alot pre. Its high variance but highly +EV.

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Exactly. If their range is literal air, hands like A8o, KJo, or pocket 4s suddenly become massive favorites. It feels incredibly uncomfortable calling off a full tournament life or cash stack with those, but over-folding just lets them exploit the table.

pltelles said:

The worst part is that these crazy players get really lucky; they end up winning hands with just any two cards. I usually wait for a good hand and call their all-in. You have to take the risk.

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That psychological toll is the hardest part to master. It’s brutal confirmation bias—we always remember the time their 83o cracked our A9o, but forget the three times our Ace-high held. You really just have to close your eyes, accept the risk, and let the math do the work.

eetenor said:

We would need to know what your calling range is normally. If V is raising 70% of hands how many players are calling them? By raise do you mean 3-4 bet? Are they raising limps?
When you say shoving light that means you saw their hands. If you get to see their hands you get to reverse engineer their actions. Once you do that that will allow you to build a strategy to beat them.

To reverse engineer hands we ask the standard questions When? In what positions do they raise? Why? Is there a reason for them raising--table is passive and does not 3 bet Players play face up post flop etc etc. Who? are they attacking the NITS? The AGGRos or only the Passives? What/ Is it any 2 cards in any seat or connected cards in position etc.

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hit the nail on the head. The worst part of Koalapanda's situation is the maniac being on their direct left. Having a 70% VPIP maniac acting right after you completely destroys your ability to play a normal opening range, making that data collection and reverse-engineering even more urgent.

fundiver199 said:

I dont quite understand the comment about the blinds "eating you alive"? This is a potential issue in a tournament, since blinds go up, and you have a finite amount of chips. But in a cash game you can always top up, and you only pay 1,5BB per orbit, unless there is an ante. Which is really not that much out of a 100BB starting stack.

So probably the issue was more, that the situation was annoying and did not allow you to play your normal game. And if you feel that way, then just go for a table change. One of the advantages of cash games is, that we can leave, whenever we want to, so no need to stay on a table, that play in a way, you do not like. If it was a tournament, and you had to stay, then the strategy is to open less hands but be more willing to stack off both preflop and postflop.

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Spot on. Too many players bring a tournament mindset to cash games. Losing 1.5 BB per orbit while waiting for a premium hand to snap off a maniac isn't "bleeding out"—it's just standard patience. If you have a 100 BB stack and can top up at any time, time is completely on your side.

Lodestone said:

If you arent 3 betting these people with 25% of your range you are probably losing money.

If you 3 bet them 5% of the time they can just fold every time profitably knowing that you have AA, AK, KK or QQ

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Spot on. If you only 3-bet a 5% "nit" range, even a complete maniac will realize they are cooked and fold. Widening that 3-bet range to 25% completely punishes their wide opening range and prints money, even if it sends variance through the roof.

antonis32123 said:

Nowadays I play mostly freerolls , so in freerolls I see far too many maniacs who play very aggressively, many times ATC . I don't play passively against them . I keep on playing by the book , maybe I'll try to lure his aggression towards me when I have a strong hand .

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Freerolls are a completely different animal. When chips have zero cash value, people play with zero fear. Trapping them when you have a monster is great, but like Lodestone mentioned, don't be afraid to push back lighter pre-flop to stop them from running over the table.

eetenor said:

good solid cash game advice above--also we can get a seat change if this is live to get on their left or leave and return in a better seat online.

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Realizing you can just change seats is a massive lightbulb moment for cash game players. Getting on a maniac's direct left completely flips the script. You go from playing on hard mode to literally printing money just by letting them act first on every street.

Nameless14 said:

If a maniac is on my left, I usually avoid trying to out-crazy them. 😄 I tighten up my opening range a bit since I'm more likely to get played back at, but I'm also more willing to call them down when I have a decent hand because they tend to overbluff.

Patience is key. They'll usually give you plenty of opportunities to pick them off without having to force the action.

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This is the perfect blueprint for when you're stuck out of position. Trying to out-bluff a maniac on your left is a fast track to bust town. Tightening up the pre-flop range and letting them hang themselves post-flop with their natural tendency to overbluff is pure gold. Patience beats aggression every time here.

The seat change point from eetenor and koalapanda is underrated advice here. Fighting a maniac out of position is the hardest way to play against one - you're forced to act first and give them information for free. If a table change or seat change is available, getting the maniac on your right instead of your left completely flips the matchup in your favor since now you get to see their action before deciding. When I can't move, my adjustment is mostly a 3-bet-heavy strategy rather than flat calling more, since maniacs who are opening too wide usually fold to consistent preflop pressure even though their postflop shove-happy reputation makes people afraid to apply it.

cloudsoh said:

The seat change point from eetenor and koalapanda is underrated advice here. Fighting a maniac out of position is the hardest way to play against one - you're forced to act first and give them information for free. If a table change or seat change is available, getting the maniac on your right instead of your left completely flips the matchup in your favor since now you get to see their action before deciding. When I can't move, my adjustment is mostly a 3-bet-heavy strategy rather than flat calling more, since maniacs who are opening too wide usually fold to consistent preflop pressure even though their postflop shove-happy reputation makes people afraid to apply it.

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Spot on analysis, especially regarding the 3-betting adjustment out of position. Flatting a maniac OOP is a nightmare because it invites them to steamroll you postflop with positional leverage. 3-betting lets you take back the initiative, isolate, and punish those bloated preflop opening ranges.
When you're stuck OOP and forced into that 3-bet heavy strategy, do you lean towards a strictly linear/value-heavy range, or are you still weaving in high-equity blockers to maximize those preflop folds?

The blinds didn't eat you alive they don't even go up in a cash game. Sounds to me like you need to work on your patience.

Everything fundiver199 says above that's great advice. Personally I always buy-in for table max and always have top up checked in the sites settings option.

Fwiw I maniac will be the quickest and easiest money you make once you get comfortable playing them and adjust to them. I love those guys and rather play them then a boring old nit. Both are pretty easy money......playing a nit is just so borrrrrrrring and mind numbing. Such a painful experience and way to make money.

Cheers!!!

koalapanda said:

Had a session last night where a player was raising 70% of hands and shoving light. I found myself tightening up too much and waiting for premiums, but the blinds just ate me alive. How do you adjust your range when a complete maniac is sitting on your direct left? Do you widen your calling range or fight fire with fire?

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Been playing this game a long time, and this spot comes up constantly. Against a 70% VPIP maniac shoving light, you don't want to just widen everything blindly — widen specifically the calling/3-bet hands that flip well or dominate air: broadway offsuit, suited connectors, and pocket pairs down to 4s. Fold the trash you'd normally limp or call with against a normal range, since those hands actually do worse against a wide shoving range than a tight one.

Since he's on your direct left, position is the real problem here, not just hand strength. I'd rather be the one raising/3-betting before he acts than flatting and letting him squeeze behind me — taking the betting lead away from a maniac is usually worth more than trying to out-flop him. If a seat change is possible, get him on your right instead of your left; that alone fixes most of the issue.

On the blinds "eating you alive" — in a cash game that's a patience issue, not a real leak, since you can always top up. Tighten your opens, let him do the betting for you, and snap him off when you wake up with a genuine hand. Fold equity and stack pressure are on your side against someone spewing that wide, you just have to let the math play out over a big enough sample.

be patient and u will be rewarded against him

It's tough if you don't catch any premium hands for a long time . When that happens ,you eventually need to just limp and re raise shove something a bit better than average .Just try to judge if other opponents have strong holdings as best you can , and get out of the way if that seems to be the case .

By the way , this post is supposedly about cash games , so if the blinds get to your stack top it off .And in a live casino, ask the dealer for a seat change button to find a more favorable spot .If you wait, eventually a double up chance will occur .

Spot on about the auto top-up—it's wild how many players let their stack bleed down to 30BB and miss out on full value when they finally hit a hand. Playing against maniacs definitely takes a different kind of patience compared to nits, but letting them hang themselves with top pair / weak kicker never gets old!

hardongear said:

The blinds didn't eat you alive they don't even go up in a cash game. Sounds to me like you need to work on your patience.

Everything fundiver199 says above that's great advice. Personally I always buy-in for table max and always have top up checked in the sites settings option.

Fwiw I maniac will be the quickest and easiest money you make once you get comfortable playing them and adjust to them. I love those guys and rather play them then a boring old nit. Both are pretty easy money......playing a nit is just so borrrrrrrring and mind numbing. Such a painful experience and way to make money.

Cheers!!!

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Really solid breakdown on range adjustments! Curious on post-flop strategy here: when you do 3-bet preflop and miss the board entirely against a maniac who floats everything, do you lean more toward multi-barrel bluffs or just check-fold and wait for the next spot?

cloudsoh said:

Been playing this game a long time, and this spot comes up constantly. Against a 70% VPIP maniac shoving light, you don't want to just widen everything blindly — widen specifically the calling/3-bet hands that flip well or dominate air: broadway offsuit, suited connectors, and pocket pairs down to 4s. Fold the trash you'd normally limp or call with against a normal range, since those hands actually do worse against a wide shoving range than a tight one.

Since he's on your direct left, position is the real problem here, not just hand strength. I'd rather be the one raising/3-betting before he acts than flatting and letting him squeeze behind me — taking the betting lead away from a maniac is usually worth more than trying to out-flop him. If a seat change is possible, get him on your right instead of your left; that alone fixes most of the issue.

On the blinds "eating you alive" — in a cash game that's a patience issue, not a real leak, since you can always top up. Tighten your opens, let him do the betting for you, and snap him off when you wake up with a genuine hand. Fold equity and stack pressure are on your side against someone spewing that wide, you just have to let the math play out over a big enough sample.

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Interesting point on the limp-shove strategy. How deep are you usually doing that in cash games? At 100BB+, do you prefer a standard limp-3bet to keep some postflop flexibility, or going straight for the shove to deny equity?

koalapanda said:

Really solid breakdown on range adjustments! Curious on post-flop strategy here: when you do 3-bet preflop and miss the board entirely against a maniac who floats everything, do you lean more toward multi-barrel bluffs or just check-fold and wait for the next spot?

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Depends on board texture and if maniac is also a calling station. I play a lot by feel and 21+ years experience. Considering how hard it is too hit anything on the flop I'm still putting my starting range well ahead of his so I'm still winning the hand right now majority of the time. So I'm ready to call it all off with A high if I think and feel my A high his still good. But then I always play well within my bankroll and losing an all-in to a maniac doesn't tilt me or bother me in the least. At worst I simply loaned him some chips for a few mins before I eventually get them back. At best I double up, he reloads and we do it all over again next hand and until he's broke.

This style isn't for everyone hell it's likely not for the majority and it's certainly VERY HIGH variance. Also on the bright side for me I'm mostly seen as a TAG player so playing like this shows others I'm not which in the end gets me action from others I otherwise wouldn't get(they'd simply fold to my raises) but now that see I can make crazy plays like that against maniacs they can't be sure I'm doing it to them as well.

Cheers!!!

I've learned that staying patient works better than fighting every aggressive player. Let them overplay their hands and wait for the right spot to make your move.

hardongear said:

Depends on board texture and if maniac is also a calling station. I play a lot by feel and 21+ years experience. Considering how hard it is too hit anything on the flop I'm still putting my starting range well ahead of his so I'm still winning the hand right now majority of the time. So I'm ready to call it all off with A high if I think and feel my A high his still good. But then I always play well within my bankroll and losing an all-in to a maniac doesn't tilt me or bother me in the least. At worst I simply loaned him some chips for a few mins before I eventually get them back. At best I double up, he reloads and we do it all over again next hand and until he's broke.

This style isn't for everyone hell it's likely not for the majority and it's certainly VERY HIGH variance. Also on the bright side for me I'm mostly seen as a TAG player so playing like this shows others I'm not which in the end gets me action from others I otherwise wouldn't get(they'd simply fold to my raises) but now that see I can make crazy plays like that against maniacs they can't be sure I'm doing it to them as well.

Cheers!!!

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Great point about table image! Showing the rest of the table that you're capable of making 'crazy' light call-downs or plays against a maniac completely shatters the standard TAG stereotype. It pays massive dividends later when you flop a monster and regular players refuse to give you credit