Deep Stacks Against a Maniac
Everything in the main maniac guide holds at normal depth: widen your calls, hold showdown value, let them barrel. Deep money adds the one caveat that saves you stacks: the doctrine caps at the deep river.
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Call-downs hold through the turn at any depth
The maniac's flop and turn barrels are range-free at 100bb and range-free at 300bb; your middle pairs and top pairs keep calling those at full width.
The deep river shove is different
When the third barrel is for 150bb plus, even a maniac's range tilts value: their bluffs came in smaller units on earlier streets, and the stack-sized river bomb is where their rare real hands live. One pair that calls a 40bb river against them folds to a 150bb one more often than feels consistent, because it is not the same bet.
Trap with everything strong
Deep, the maniac is the one villain whose barrels can pay your slow plays a full stack: flat your big pairs preflop in position, check your sets everywhere, let the avalanche come to you. The deep trap that risks missed value against a TAG risks nothing here; they build every pot for you.
Worked hand
Worked hand
280bb deep, maniac opens 5x, you flat A♠ A♣ on the button: the trap, at this depth, against this player. Flop J♦ 9♦ 4♠: they bet pot, you call. Turn 3♣: they bet pot, you call. River 8♥: they shove 190bb. Now the doctrine caps: aces face the one bet in their arsenal that is value-tilted, and with this hand you still call, because aces beat half their value range too. The fold is for one pair below top pair; the lesson is that the deep river is a DECISION against a maniac, where every other street never was.
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The mistakes that cost you
- Treating the 200bb river like the 40bb river.
- Raising their flop bets deep (the avalanche stops).
- Trapping out of position deep (traps need control; position is control).
Practice beating the Maniac
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