Maniacs can be both the most annoying players and the best (when you catch them) Heads up its difficult , because you have to play more hands, and less than premium hands. If he is both a maniac and a calling station (as it seems he is) the best thing you can hope is to catch cards, and then slowplay the hell out of them. Let him bet at you big, and finally raise him at the end and apparently he is likely to call. If he is just a maniac preflop and then turns into a calling station post flop, just play straight up poker. Imagine you're going to have to showdown the majority of the times, so try and make the hands you win expensive for him, while giving him cheap pots.
Another good strategy against maniacs heads up, and Im gunna steal a bit from David Sklansky, is once the flop hits, imagine that the top card isnt there , or turn it into a duece... Which means play your mid pair as if its top etc. , and since he will be check raising with 2nd and 3rd pair at times, be smart enough to know when to check back and when to bet...PS maniacs dont check raise much, they just bet...lol
Finallys if you do get a huge starting hand and he makes a unrespectable raise (minimum...which by the way I will never fold my BB to a minimum raise, and no decent player will either, unless the blinds are literally out of this world) then make a reraise but not a monsterous one....unless you believe he's likely to call regardless, then push it in. If he respects your reraises, then reraise frequently...with any decent hands even those such as QT, J9, K10, 10,8s etc .... if he doesnt and sees every flop regardless of your raise or reraise, then just be patient.... when you catch cards preflop just bet ridiculously...he'll call and call all the way to the river.
I was in a game one time heads up where this one player was just the defination of a calling station...saw most of the flops, and called with K high or better because "i dont wanna lose a pot to a bluff" etc. I caught pocket Kings, normally at that stage in the tourny Id lead out for 3x the BB...instead I raised 11x the BB he called with a jack 6 suited. it flopped 10, 8, 6 rainbow. I went all in on the flop (another move Id never make) and he called with bottom pair...I looked at him funny, he just said, the flop helped me, how do I know if it helped you? I just shook my head and took the tourney down, wondering how this guy made it past the first 10 minutes.
The lesson is, yea you wont always catch cards, but when you do burn them for a huge pot. When they win try and make their pots small....If hes a maniac then slowplay to perfection....if hes a calling station, wait till you have something then just keep betting....he'll call you!....hope it helps
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