what to do against the all-in maniac?!

[Staresy]

Just looking to get some opinion on what others would do in this situation which happened last night.

I don't have hand histories unfortunately, but this is fairly accurate.....

It is about 30-45 minutes into an MTT (only $1 entry - so maybe this is part of the problem), avg. stack=c.2000, blinds 50/100. Some guy has just taken out 3 other leading chip stacks and is now clear leader (he has about 11,000 in chips). I am down to my bare arse following another dirty chapter in the AQ saga!! However, a couple of hands later I quadruple up to about 1200.

Now, this is where the guy with 11,000 just charges all-in every single hand pre-flop. We are talking 7 or 8 hands in a row. One hand I pick up KQs, call, he moves all-in which is what I was expecting, I call, he flips over 38o. I pair K and Q and double up.

2 hands later, I pick up AKo. I am in MP so I raise 4xBB, he does his customary all-in manouever, another guy calls (but he only has about 700, so we've both got him covered), I call. 11,000 guy shows QTo, short-stack shows KJo. Anyway, nutcase spikes a T on the river and its game over.

Should I have made this move? Looking back I am thinking not now, but I thought I had a very good chance of moving up to c.5,000 and then would have been set to sit and let him self-destruct against everyone else. What do people think?

[Laeelin]

AA loses ~27% of the time in a 3 way showdown against random hands.

AKo loses ~52% of the time in a 3 way showdown against random hands.

I really try to avoid going all in preflop in a tournament, but I wouldn’t have resisted that hand... (But then I’m still a fish)

In a ring game it is worth it ever time because you’re not "out" if you lose, and the odds are good.

However, I'm hardly an expert, so take what I say for what it’s worth… /grin


edit: oops, corrected numbers

[BreakfastMan]

You need to go all in with this AK. You know the guy is going to put you all in each time, so you are looking for great hands. How long are you going to have to wait before you find a better hand than AKo to go with?

[r8ed]

If that other guy went all-in before you, you probably want to let them duke it out for the reasons Laeelin stated. That's the logical decision. However, it would be hard for most people to follow that advice in those circumstances including myself.

[zenbitz]

The third guy doesn't matter cause he only has 700 chips. It's basically heads up for 2000 chips, with a 700 side bet.

Your only move, other than gambling with AK, is to hope someone else gamb les a few times and gets lucky - cutting his chip lead down to something where he doesn't cover the whole table. Does that sound like poker to you?

[aokrongly]

I would only call a maniac who has me more than covered chipwise AI if I had a "made hand" - i.e. a pair. I say this alot and it may not even be true, but two random high cards are only a slight favorite over two random low cards. AK are obviously the highest and they're connected - but you can only get a straight 1 way, not 2 ways like other connected cards - but you're gambling. Alot people love AK, but I don't consider it an AI hand if the other guy has me covered in chips and made the first move. I would go AI against a raise if my reraise has a 50/50 chance of winning the hand right there. But, then I'm playing better odds overall. I have the best two unpaired cards AND a chance for a fold preflop.

Generally the table will knock the horns off a player like this. But he was playing well as the big stack. I call it "double up on me", and I'll do it if I have a dominant stack. People wilt under the pressure, they make bad calls and I get lucky draws. In the end it's a value bet because I'm risking 1/5th of my chips or so and they're risking all theirs. This is especially true if the blinds are large and stealing the blinds 4-5 times will cover any potential loss.

In the end, though, it's a gut decision and I play fairly conservative poker. I'm always looking for value plays.

[Staresy]

thanks guys.

I was justifying it to myself at the time on the grounds that, even if I lost to Mr.700, I could still double the rest of my stack up against the maniac and would come out c.1,000-1,200 up.

Maybe I was riding the momentum wave too much (having just quaded and doubled up).

Looking back it though, I should have waited (as aokrongly says) until I had a hand that he, in effect, would have "to beat".

Like I say, cheers for the views, will (try to!!) take them on board. Will be looking for more of the same when Staresy's Scenarios returns .........