Seven Card Stud: Dealing with Maniacs

Maniacs present a problem at the table. They greatly increase the volatility of the game. Let me share my strategy for dealing with them. I think you'll find it profitable. I was playing at my friendly neighborhood $10/20 Stud game at Foxwoods. I knew nearly all of the players at the table. All but one were tight players attracted to this tightly structured game.

But there was this one player I didn't know - Aboud. I realized quickly that he was a maniac; he raised about every third hand. He wouldn't stop until the pot was capped or until no one else raised him.

Aboud seemed to be winning. Mostly, against these straightforward, tight/aggressive players he won with his uncontested raise or when he bet out on Fourth. He seemed to be on quite a run. When I sat down he had two racks of reds and was working on his third.

Funny thing was, in this game I was the guy who usually did most of the raising - at least if I had any kind of a decent hand. I usually won at $10/20 by knocking these timid souls around. But Aboud was stealing my thunder.

I realized that I had to alter my strategy somewhat to take advantage of the changes at the table that he caused. I used his aggression to limit the field while I tried to get heads up against him - and then follow in his wake. So, for example, if I had a middling hand with a medium card and a high kicker I'd raise in front of him, anticipating that he'd re-raise me and knock everyone else out. I wouldn't ever get into a raising war with him -- all I wanted was heads up action. Then I'd play passively against his aggression.

On the other hand, if he initiated action in front of me, as he frequently did, then I'd raise - again aiming to knock everyone else out. In those rare instances when we didn't succeed in blowing away our competition I would generally resign early and let someone else battle it out with Aboud.

Here's a typical hand from that session. I had a split pair of 9s with an Ace kicker. No 9s or Aces were out. The bring-in to my right bet $3. Two players folded. I raised to $10. Two players after me folded. Aboud, with a King showing, raised to $20. The remaining players folded and I called.

I didn't improve on Fourth. Neither, apparently did Aboud. He bet and I called. Had he paired his King or any other exposed card higher than my 9 I would have folded. As it was I called him all the way.

On the River I received a second pair - but not Aces Up. He bet his King and I called. He beat me with trip 7s - well concealed and probably made on the last card. Though I lost, I was certain that I had played the hand correctly - and I continued with the same strategy for the four hours I stayed in the game.

Aboud and I had many battles that evening. Though he had over $1,200 when I sat down, by the time I left four hours later he had blown through nearly $1,000 of it. The other players didn't change their strategy at all - just playing tight while letting Aboud and me battle out most hands. Some of them made a little money by playing their very few excellent hands very hard against him. Most of them, however, lost money. I, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to walk away with over $700 of Aboud's money --- thanks largely to a strategy that isolated him and then played passively against him. The same strategy for playing against a maniac should work for you.