Call the maniac?

[AvatarKava]

PP Step tournament, level 1.

Final table, 5 players left. My stack is 3rd, around 3500. Small stack has 1800. Chip leader sitting to my left is also the table maniac - has been pushing with almost nothing and showing all game anytime someone raises and no one has had anything worthy of a call.

I've got QQ on the button, and raise to 4x (around 10% of my stack), maniac comes over the top in the SB.

Is this a call or fold situation? Note the structure - top 4 win exactly the same prize, entry to step 2.

If I win the hand, I can post and fold to the next level. If I lose, I bubble.

[Corey]

I would have called. Or pushed all in

And see what happens

[SteveO]

Hmmm, tough decision. Did he come over the top AI or just re-raise?

Based on your read I might pop it AI. However, you don't want to mess with the chip leader and bubble out. It would be safer to wait for one of you opponents to make that mistake.

If you win, you are sure of moving up the ladder. The problem is he is on you left and you won't be stealing his blinds and he can do that to you all day if you don't make a stand.

If you were in for 10% and he re-raised it to 750 to go I call and take a flop. If it is a safe flop with no overs I pop him AI. If it's a scare flop and he bets you walk away with plenty of chips (still over 2000 if I understand correctly).

Let me guess, you pushed AI and he had AA or KK?

[a500lbgorilla]

It's a tough decision (or made one by the circumstances).

Essentially you're putting up QQ against a maniac for entry into step 2.

THAT being said. I'm going to have to say fold. You're in a race against the short stack and you're winning. The maniac has enough chips to not need to make a move. He doesn't want to play his hand (It's good and he just wants the cards to fall.) And you're still in good shape afterwards.

-'rilla

[AvatarKava]

Inexplicably, despite my brain SCREAMING for me to fold, I call and he flips AA.

To add insult to injury, he hit quads on the flop.

[Corey]

Inexplicably, despite my brain SCREAMING for me to fold, I call and he flips AA.

To add insult to injury, he hit quads on the flop.

well you went out in style my friend

[AvatarKava]

Inexplicably, despite my brain SCREAMING for me to fold, I call and he flips AA.

To add insult to injury, he hit quads on the flop.

well you went out in style my friend

[elanto]

wow tough break man....thats the power of a maniac he can push when he has the nuts and hell get some callers mos of the time...if its a survivor tourney you have to fold in this situation every time


-anto

[bigred]

Yeah, I was trying to give off a maniac style when we got shorthanded. I'm dealt AA reraise huge like normal, guy pushes with 77 cause "I'm the idiot maniac" and bam, he's gone. Playing a maniac preflop is very hard if you ask me.

[michael1123]

Yeah, I'd fold here largely because 4th pays the same as 1st and you're in great position to make it to 4th by folding, why risk it?

Plus, you gotta remember that raising and reraising preflop are completely different things. Maniacs will typically raise a ton with crappy cards preflop, but if someone else raises and he comes over the top like that, you gotta think he has a hand. It may not be better than yours, but he has outs, and there's no reason to risk it. Let the small stack gamble first. Until he does, you don't have to make any risky plays.

It'd be completely different if the situation was reversed and he bet in front of you and you had QQ. Then you gotta play it, and at least call if not reraise all in. But the move he made was showing a ton of strength, while this second case is just showing that he has two cards.