AK vs a maniac.

[Rage2100]

This is a Stars $3.40. The Button was a maniac, his stats were 100/80 at this point. UTG+1 was getting annoyed with the Button and had started to call his raises. Is flat calling ok here in the hope there will be extra chips in the pot for my push?
As it turned out, UTG+1 was getting around 3:1 odds on the call but I was thinking maybe he had a weaker hand than he would normally have, due to the Button continually raising.

Or should I just standard raise or shove this at the $3.40s? My stack is at an awkward size here though.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t100 (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t1235)
SB (t500)
BB (t3865)
UTG (t1690)
UTG+1 (t3255)
MP1 (t1670)
MP2 (t1390)
Hero (t1395)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, K.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t100, 2 folds, Hero calls t100, Button raises to t400, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls t300, Hero raises to t1395 (All-In)

[GatorJH]

why the initial call? You should have raised that one up to 400. Then you would have had a much better idea of how strong Button and, in particular UTG+1 were.

[Rage2100]

why the initial call? You should have raised that one up to 400. Then you would have had a much better idea of how strong Button and, in particular UTG+1 were.

Yes, normally I would do this but Button was raising almost every hand and UTG+1 had started to call his raises. I was thinking I could win a few extra chips by playing it this way. Maybe I'm overthinking this at the $3.40s but at the time it seemed like a good idea.

[GatorJH]

I was thinking I could win a few extra chips by playing it this way. Maybe I'm overthinking this at the $3.40s but at the time it seemed like a good idea.

No need for FPS at the $3.40 level. Play your strong hands strong and the donks will come along just fine.

[KoRnholio]

I like it. With a maniac behind us we can very often get all our chips in preflop (perhaps even with added dead money) with a good edge.

[drmcboy]

given those reads, this isn't just good, it's an A+

No need for FPS at the $3.40 level. Play your strong hands strong and the donks will come along just fine.

this is the kind of stuff I was talking about in BJ's adjust thread. Why does it matter what the BI is if we have a great read?

we can get all our chips in with a huge hand against:
someone who has ATC and may fold and
someone who it sounds like is playing maybe top 25% here and may fold.

[bjsaust]

I agree with Gator that theres no real need for fancy play here, however I think its great that you made a solid read and came up with a line to maximixe your EV based on that read. I love this hand.

[drmcboy]

what does 'need' have to do with it? Do we need to run at 15% ROI? No, but it's better than 10%. That's what I'm telling you - tight is right ABC poker isn't 100% correct at any level (see this post).
But it is:

1) The easist style to learn/play

2) One of the styles that can win at this level

3) Probably the best style to play if you will never change gears.

4) Probably the best style to play against someone who has no clue.


which is why it's recommended for anyone at the low BIs.

[bjsaust]

Its more of a protection thing I think. One of the things I've been working on myself (and has come up in some chats with others), is that a lot of my ABC game is based on protecting a beginner from making too many mistakes.

This hand for instance is great, but its easy for someone starting off to do this once or twice and start to think its so great they start throwing in fancy plays a lot more often, with much less solid reads. Time and again we see people posting hands with weird lines backed up by convoluted and often ass-backwards thinking, when playing basic poker would have netted them a much better result.

[FlyingSaucy]

100/80 lol sweeeeeet

[mcatdog]

This hand was played perfectly. Also people shouldn't use words like "need" in poker, they should the word "best" instead. If the ABC play is +EV but a different line (such as this one) is even more so, then the ABC play is bad.

[DetroitHusling101]

NH. I would play it the same way given the 100/80 left to act.

[DetroitHusling101]

BTW the correct play would be to shove after the limper gators , not raise 400. But given the BUTTON is raising every hand i much rather take the same line as OP

[Rage2100]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I agree with the comments that tight is right ABC poker is usually the best strategy at this level, especially as I'm sure some of the players are trying to add the cards up to get 21.

I did enjoy this hand though, the maniac Button called with A5, UTG+1 folded, and I ended up with over 3000 chips and went on to win the tourney. Nice!!!