| I'm playing in a hold'em home game when the following hand came up. I get 77 in MP. An EP maniac raises and it's folded to me. I call and everyone else folds leaving it heads up between me and the maniac. Before I continue let me say a little bit about this maniac. He will raise in any position with any pair, and 2 high cards, and any ace, making him very hard to read, and he wil usually continue with aggression to the river. So at this point, anything is possible. The flop is 49J rainbow. EP bets out and I call (I probably should have raised for info.) I asked him why he's betting with ace high, which he does a lot, and he said that he felt like it. The turn is a queen and now EP checks. I figure he checked because of me. I check-raise and slow-play so much that people get nervous when I check and call. I thought about betting here but decided to check also. I could rule out a jack because he would have bet that, as well as an overpair, 2 pair, or a set. The reason I checked was because I was fearful of pocket 88, and A9 - both of which he might check. The river is the absolute worst card for me, an ace. EP bets, I call and he flips over A2. I called because even though he probably had the ace, I thought he could be bluffing based on what I said to him earlier, and also because I was hoping he had a lower pocket pair that he was "value betting" which he does a lot. I have two questions concerning this hand. Should I have bet the turn, and should I have called on the river given my read of the maniac. Thanks in advance for your help. |
Hand against a maniac, Numie, 25. Oct 2003 23:17