What's almost as good as a maniac and a lot less scary for your poker bankroll?

Anyone who gets frustrated at suck-outs like I do should really give 6-max tables a try. It won't be A-B-C poker. But if you can play short-handed and pay attention to your position, you'll probably do well in the micro-limits (from 1/2 limit on down). I think you'll find that your starting hands hold up better because they're often playing against less hands. Straights and flushes don't have as much emphasis depending on the game. If the whole table is routinely calling to see a flop, then play those suited connectors. They're also great for clearing a bonus because you get more hands per hour in. More hands per hour means more raked pots and more good starting hands.

Anyways... On to the topic at hand. So what's better than a maniac and a lot less scary? It's a guy at a 6-max 1/2 limit table that plays 100% of his hands without a preflop raise AND calls down everything. This particular guy called the river even if I had check-raised him.

I was scouting tables on Interpoker and saw this guy that I thought I was playing with the night before. This guy was practically giving away his money. Well, it wasn't the same guy, but this other one at the table is the one I'm talking about tonight. He started out with about $120 when I got there and saw every single flop for 2 hours till he busted out. I was really hoping he'd reload.

Everyone else at the table was a decent player as far as I could tell. Since I sat to his left, I just raised preflop when I thought I had a hand that would be better than his random hands. It worked like a charm. He got isolated a lot. And if he wasn't isolated pre-flop, he'd inevitably bet first on every flop. If I wanted to play him heads-up, all I had to do was raise his bet. He sucked out every once in a while. But over the long run, he lost more hands for more money when he called with nothing. And the whole thing was a lot less scary than a maniac because he wouldn't raise unless he had a monster hand. The two-hour session with him alone made my night.