Short Stacks Against a Maniac
Short stacks are the maniac antidote: their weapon is pressure across streets, and a 40bb stack removes the streets. One raise and a shove and the hand is over; nobody gets barreled off anything.
From Poker Ascent: 110,000+ drills across 10 skills, graded against the player type you are facing.
Simplify to get-it-in poker
Your continuing range against their raises becomes high-card value that dominates their calling range: pairs 77 plus, AT plus, KQ. Flat-calling to see flops loses its appeal short; the implied odds hands have nothing to win when the stacks go in on the flop anyway.
Shove over their raises
At 30 to 40bb, the 3-bet shove with 99 or AJ against a maniac open is among the highest-EV plays in low-stakes poker: they call with dominated junk at a price no other player type offers.
Accept the variance contract
You will be a 60 to 70 percent favorite getting stacks in, repeatedly, and you will lose three in a row some nights. Short-stack maniac poker is the purest version of the emotional plan: pre-commit, get it in good, rebuy.
Worked hand
Worked hand
You have 38bb, the maniac opens to 5x for the sixth straight hand, you find A♦ J♦ in the cutoff. Shove. Calling invites a flop decision out of your depth range; folding surrenders to a range that includes both cards under a ten. They call with K9 offsuit and you hold. This exact spot family is one of our app's short-stack drills.
Want to drill this exact spot?
The app deals you hundreds of maniac hands and grades every answer against their real tendencies. Free on Google Play.
The mistakes that cost you
- Set-mining short (no odds).
- Flatting their raise with AK to trap (the trap needs streets; shove and get called by worse).
- Playing scared under 40bb instead of embracing the simplified game.
Practice beating the Maniac
The app has a dedicated maniac mission: hundreds of drills where the correct answer is graded against exactly this player type. Same hands, same reads you just learned.
Coming soonFree on Google Play. 3 buy-ins a day, no card required.