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How do I beat a maniac heads-up in online limit HE Poker? I am up, but I don’t think I’m maxing EV vs. maniacs. What kinds of
strategies and tactics do you recommend?

Answer 1:

Allow him to take the lead, and only play hands that have a greater than 50% chance of winning heads-up. You are letting him dominate you with chips, and he is winning his good hands, the blinds, and win he gets lucky. You need to go hard against him when you have the best hand. The Maniac IE aggressive player has a huge advantage in heads up play. You are the only one giving information about the hand.

His strength is universally unknown, and he is going to win every blind that you do not have a good start on, and he is going to go straight for your stack. You start with only quality hands, bail quickly on bad flops, and continue with pot odds in your favor. Will you win? A maniac is going to put you straight into high variance, who is lucky poker. If good hands come up often enough to overcome the stealing of the blinds, and when he is lucky, and when he just plain has you beat, you will win, otherwise, he will win, a good maniac can often take you down based on blind stealing and otherwise winning hands that you chose to fold. So long as the big loses do not overcome the lots of little losses, well you lose.

A maniac is even more “dangerous” on-line, because there are damn few external “tells” to give you a read on his hand. The other method is just going up stack against stack. Become an equal Maniac. At this point you are going for his stack and his blinds just as viciously as you are. In this case, the poker is little more than cut for high-cards, and you have little long-term ability to win anything, because it is essentially a high-cost coin flip. Welcome to heads-up poker. Being a maniac in this case is NOT necessarily the sign of a weak player. They are removing information, and creating a position where all weakness and domination is felt by the other player. There are very few ways to overcome it, and any method can have dramatic short-term variations that can outstrip your bankroll. They have no fear of their bankroll, and that puts you in a weak position.

A maniac will eat for lunch somebody that plays against them because they are a maniac. That is their primary target. This generally leads to overly tight, weak play, or overly loose, weak play. It is a fine line that you need to walk if you are going to be anything other than an equal maniac. If this is uncomfortable for you. DON’T play. When you get to the final table in a tournament, take the chop. Find another game that suits your style. Ultimately the best way to beat a maniac, may be very well, to let others play them.

Answer 2:

I’m under the impression that the on-line poker sites charge $1 rake on every heads-up hand. If this is true, I’d tend to think it’s difficult to beat anyone but a total fish at one of the on-line heads-up tables.

Answer 3:

My strategy would be “don’t play a maniac heads up in online poker.” It’s a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Why would you get involved in a game where super aggression is your biggest weapon against someone who’s only playing style is super aggressive? Also, there is less in the way of tells you can generate in online as you cannot see the person face to face. Why would you ever want to play a super aggressive person one on one in the first place? I just think that’s bad business…try and find a more passive opponent. Those are the people you can dominate heads up.

Three guys go to Vegas for the WSOP and check in at a dumpy downtown motel. Upon check-in the desk clerk asks for $30 for the night. Each man pulls out a $10 bill, hands them to the clerk, and the clerk tells the bellman to take them to room 2. At the end of his shift the desk clerk realizes that he charged the men in Room 2 the weekend rate and today is only Thursday and should have been charged $25. He pulls five singles out of the till and calls to the bellman. Says “Take this $5 to the men in Room 2 and explain that we overcharged them.” So the bellman takes the money to room 2 when he realizes that those cheap bastages never tipped him for taking their bags. So, he takes two of the singles and pockets them for his effort. Bellman knocks on the door and says sorry, we overcharged you – here your change and hands each of the three men $1. Now – Here’s the question…

What is 9×3?

How much did the bellman put in his pocket? So….Where did the other dollar go?

Answer 1:

There is no *other* dollar. The question is misleading. $10 each = $30 originally paid. $5 back from the desk clerk covers the $25 room rate. $2 bucks to the bellman leaves $3 left (split 3ways = $1 per man).

Answer 2:

The amended charge per person comes to $8.33. (25 / 3 = 8.33) They paid $10.00. Their return should have been $l.67. They only got $1.00 back and the porter kept the $2.00 (.67 x 3 = 2.00)

Answer 3:

The problem is in trying to compare the total the men paid ($27) to the original amount paid ($30) even after the hotel has taken the $5 out of the till. Once the hotel takes the $5 out, you need to compare the amount the men paid with the amount the hotel *has* ($25), not the amount the hotel originally had. So, then, “9×3 is $27, but the bellboy put $2 *of that* in his pocket and the hotel has $25.” (You don’t *add* the $2 to the $27 paid, you *subtract* it.)
To fully illustrate, let’s say the bellman didn’t steal any of the $5.
The end of the problem would now read: “$8.33 * 3 = $25. The bellman put how much in his pocket? (0$) What happened to the other $5?” Now the problem seems silly, doesn’t it? You instantly understand that there is no “other $5,” because you realize that the hotel let go of $5 and thus a comparison of amount paid by the patrons has to be made against the hotel’s $25.

I’m coming to L. A. soon and I wondered how the games are going at the new Hustler Casino? I know they opened strong but wondered how they are doing now.

Answer 1:

It’s located on the corner of Pornography Ave and Smut Peddler Way.

Answer 2:

That’s nothing. His daughter has accused him of molesting her when she was a kid. Would you lie about that when you stood to inherit millions? I know many poker players think porn is just free speech, but child-molestation is a criminal perversion and Flynt calls himself “The Pervert.” Of course, there couldn’t possibly be any connection between porn and child-molestation. Think about that next time you are going to play poker in his club.

Answer 3:

Without (hopefully) starting yet another “who owns the Hustler” thread, it is NOT Mr. Flynt’s club. He built the building and is the landlord, but he has no official affiliation with the casino (he can’t get licensed) and as far as any of us who play there are concerned, he’s just another customer.

Need some tactical advice on playing Anaconda (or ‘pass the garbage’) – anybody play this variation who can offer some advice? Or perhaps point me to a web site? Someone has introduced this variation into my regular Thursday night game and I’m losing a lot of money playing it!

Answer 1:

If you’re playing hi-low and 54 is the perfect, never go in with less than a boat or a 6 low after the pass. If there’s much pre pass betting never go in with less than two pair, trips (keep a medium kicker not an Ace) and only try to pull one for a low, but never bet on getting a 5 or 6.

Answer 2:

Definitely be prepared to fold a lot…I only play low if i have low nuts, or a very close proximity. As for high, its anyone’s guess what it’s going to be. This is where knowing your competitors come in handy. The one thing I always try and do, though, is constantly screw the person who is after me. I give him high cards, then low cards, then high cards again (or vice versa). This way you know at least he’s screwed, and if he gets screwed hopefully it will affect the whole table.

Answer 3:

Draw to a lot of flushes.

-Expect to miss them all
-passing 3 of one suit lessens the odds of giving up a flush believe it or not.
-a *lot* of hands go to flushes so consider you high card very carefully.
-Anytime you opponent gives you pretty cards is as good as having high cards showing, since the prick will more than likely advertise the fact for you.
-straights are worthless can be tough because if an opponent gives you a pair then he has very good cards and your boat may be no good.
-Put a lot more emphasis on what you hold than what you give up-you have no idea what he wants.
-I saw AAAA lose once
-since one hand may go to two pair, and the next to a straight-flush: consider your relative position and use it!
-You must learn to fold.
-ONLY bluff heads up!
-bluff a lot heads up.
-Take all of this advice and bend it to fit your opponents.

We had a bit of a dispute in a home game last night about this situation. Game is 5-stud, high/low, no qualifiers. One player has two aces showing; one has two sixes showing. Our house rule has always been that in this situation the aces can be played as “13′s” for high and as “1′s” for low, thus the aces could scoop. The victim was a newer player in the game and insisted that it was an oddball rule. The rest of us see it as clear-cut. What do you think?

Answer 1:

Unless you’re playing seven duece rules, an ace is always a potential scoop card or a potential scoop pair in 5 card stud hi/lo and 5 card draw hi/lo. Because of that scoop potential, which still exists even if it pairs, Ace is a critical card in those games and you pretty much just shouldn’t play without one.

Answer 2:

It’s not that odd ball of a game. Sklanksy talks about it in TOP with replace on the end. Aces usually go both ways in hi-lo games. That said, it is a strange enough concept (particularly to those who haven’t play hi-lo before) so that you should inform a newcomer about it, because you can surely see why he might be ticked off. If you’re playing a “low card in the hold wild” game, it’s also nice to let the guy know if aces can be used for low.

Answer 3:

In home games, the rules can be whatever you decide them to be. Just make sure all new players are made aware of all your rules. (When new situations come up, we usually let the dealer decide what to do during the hand and then vote for future reference when the hand is over.) In my game you can’t go both with only five cards. (You have to win both if you go both.)

You’re playing 4-8 7CS, 50-cent ante, $2 bring-in. Most of your opponents are weak-passive and easily intimidated. As a result, one player at your table (we’ll call him Steamroller) is amassing a large amount of chips by betting out or raising frequently and aggressively, especially when he has scare cards showing. You know he’s just running over the table because (a) nobody gets dealt that many good hands, and (b) he’s been called down a couple times and has shown trash hole cards. He has otherwise shown no detectable poker skill at all. Also, when he loses a big pot, or has lost several hands in a row, he gets pissed off and has to leave the table to calm down. He gives all the signs of being one of those players who thinks he is entitled to win every hand. Anyway… Your hand is (Th)(Qh)Td and there is one heart showing. The other hands have assorted medium to small cards. Steamroller, two seats to your left, is showing Jd, and there is one other small diamond showing. The bring-in is between you and Steamroller. Steamroller raises to $4 and all fold to you. You reraise. Bring-in folds. Steamroller eraises, you call. Fourth street: you catch a small, very dead brick. Steamroller catches a small live diamond. He bets. The question is, what would you do here?

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Casino Player

I would like to kindly ask a few questions about the legalities of online poker.

1. Is it legal for an American software company to license poker software to online poker casinos and accept ongoing royalties (either a fixed amount, or as a percentage of the gross) as part of their license fees?
2.  Is a U.S. citizen in violation of U.S. laws by having his/her name on an off shore credit processor account?
3. Is it legal for a U.S. citizen to advertise/market for an off shore poker casino? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

There is precious little rules (either existing or proposed) that deal with on-line casinos, so you have to draw from the existing gambling statues.  I don’t think there is anything at the Federal level (nor most states) that prohibits developing gambling equipment. The answer to the second question is that, with the exception of a few blacklisted countries, there’s nothing that prohibits it. The answer to the third question is that, Not right now.  But if the current Internet Gambling bill passes as written, it will pretty much make such agents of “Gambling Businesses” illegal.

Answer 2:

My concern isn’t with the questions above (which IMHO would never be universally answered in a court of law) but with the larger question of how the recent Internet Gambling Bill will impact on-line poker.  Basically the law seeks to stop on-line casinos and sports books by requiring US ISPs to block access.  My question is whether or not this applies to poker rooms such as Paradise Poker?  Also, keep in mind this may impact practically all US Internet users.  It isn’t just AOL, MindSpring, etc that will block access but ALL ISPs including UUnet, PSInet, etc that provide internet access for corporations and educational institutions.  If the bill passes and isn’t immediately challenged in court you may want to consider checking with your ISP about their plans to block access to such sites.

Answer 3:

People keep saying this, but the bills as currently written don’t say that. The only requirement on ISP’s is for their direct subscribers who happen to be ’gambling businesses.’

At the Orleans are flyers for a “Reno Hiltons 1st annual World Poker Challenging January. Is this the Carnival of Poker moved to the Reno Hilton, or have they dropped the Carnival of Poker and the Reno Hilton was the first to move in on those dates (I think this time period used to be the Four Queens before the Carnival)?

Answer 1:

It’s the latter, Harrah’s canceled and Hilton jumped in to try to grab those dates.  Hilton always has good room rates, probably $25 or less including weekends (especially in the Winter), but at $300+ for the events it will be interesting to see how many travel to it, I don’t think there will be many Reno tourney players in that league.

Answer 2:

Since the “Carnival Of Poker” had not found a home, the Reno Hilton Card Room Manager, Mike Gainey grabbed the dates and arranged to host the “1st Annual World Poker Challenge”. An exciting tournament is being planned with $25 room rates for the players.

Answer 3:

Think you are wrong!!!!! In fact I know it! The combination of Mike Gainey, Dave Lamb,Scoff, Barbara and Rudy Lotieff(I hope Rudy is feeling better)Rick Takemoto, Amy(don’t know her last name) on the board, middle limit buy ins, cheap room rates, and reasonable vig is a guarantee of success! What I don’t know about is the smoking? Does anybody know if this is a non smoking event??? How about finding out for us Barbie? At any rate, even if they allow smoking, I am going, and I know a few others from SoCal who are also going, and I doubt whether Kennie, Tex and the bunch from the Northwest would miss it. I expect that this tournament will be a record breaker for Reno!