You’ve
seen this guy in the casino, card room and even at the home game. Loud,
boisterous and maybe even a little obnoxious. He plays with an intimidating
flair, is ego-driven and has a very aggressive nature. These players are the
bully types, and while you may not get the full flavor of their personalities
over the Internet, you no doubt will face them at the online poker table.
The loose-aggressive players, also called “maniacs,” can be the most
dangerous opponents online. They consistently put other players to the test and
if they pick a table that’s tight, their strategy will be to terrorize it. The
loose-aggressive player never met a hand he didn’t like, and will play most of
them, regardless of the quality. A loose-aggressive player’s style even puts the
good players on edge because of their unpredictability. They will raise,
re-raise, bluff till they’re blue in the face and make their opponents dump some
serious cash in order to beat them. The loose-aggressives are reckless gamblers
who tend to fall by the wayside when confronted with the sharper, more
experienced players.
Playing
the maniac isn’t much fun, but there are ways to prevail against them. If
possible, get a seat that’s to the left of the maniac. Acting behind these type
of players is key because of the opportunity to selectively re-raise them when
you have a strong hand like A-K or pocket pairs. The tough part is figuring out
whether he has a hand or not. But once you do, remember that the
loose-aggressives can often self-destruct when they’re not getting the good
cards.
You will also have to see good starting hands all the way past
the turn, even if they don’t improve on the flop. The amount of times a maniac
bluffs at the pot makes it necessary to do this. You want to be selective
against a maniac, especially if you’re sitting to the right, but you also don’t
want to end up isolated and being bullied.
If you’re at an online table
with a player or players who are loose-aggressive, the chip stacks of the entire
table will be at greater risk. Wild fluctuations and the potential to lose big
pots and, consequently, win big pots, are all in play.
