December 01, 2021
While maniacs can raise your stress level and blood pressure, it's important to bear in mind that they're ultimately no stronger than the cards they hold. And frequently those cards are a lot weaker than yours. As long as you position yourself to act after the maniac, and can withstand the highly volatile nature of the game, you'll be favored in the long run. After all, a maniac's worst enemy is himself.
That's not the issue. It's figuring out when he has a real hand that's the toughie. Let's describe the characteristics of a typical maniac. If you bet, he'll raise - even when he doesn't have a hand to support his action. If you check, he'll bet. He, on the other hand, seldom checks, unless he is in early position, really has the goods, and is trying to trap a number of Partypoker opponents by checkraising.
If you are a winning player, a maniac in your game will usually increase your average winnings over the long run. While it is likely to be a measurable increase, it probably won't be off the charts. On the other hand, there will be a dramatic increase in the fluctuations you can expect on an hourly basis. In the short run, you'll find yourself susceptible to large swings - for better or for worse - since more chips will at risk whenever you play a hand.
If you decide to play baccarat during the day, you can do so at a fairly leisurely pace, while still placing yourself in a game with a small house advantage. It's important to remember that it's your vacation, so enjoy yourself. Pick a game you like, make the most intelligent bets you can and have fun. But once your money for that day or that session is gone, that's it. Find something else to do.
Now that kind of bankroll is not going to get you comped into the penthouse suite with free run of the restaurants and all the expensive champagne you can drink, but if you take the time to join the casino's slot club, get your table game play rated by a pit boss, and ask the poker room manager for a freebie after you've played for a few hours, you may still get a free trip or two to the buffet.
Our advice might sound simplistic, but it works: Quit when you are no longer having any fun. It's all too easy to lose, grow depressed as a result of losing, and begin to take your troubles out on your bankroll. If you keep on playing Partypoker when you're in this condition and continue to lose, you're liable to reach the point of no return.
With four cards to work with, you can form six different starting combinations. In other words, you have six times as many potential starting hands as you do as you do in hold'em. As a result, winning hands tend to be quite a bit bigger than they are in Texas hold'em. In Texas hold'em, you can form the best hand using two, one, or even none of your private cards, but in Omaha you must play two cards no more, no less to make a valid Omaha hand.
Each player antes a token sum of money into the pot before receiving any cards. In a fixed limit game with $2 and $4 betting limits, an ante of 50 cents is typical, and betting is in increments of two dollars until the fifth card is dealt, when the betting limit increases to four dollars. As you become more comfortable in a casino poker environment, you can leave these cheat sheets behind and develop more sophisticated and flexible tactics. Although some good books are available to help you do this, these crib notes will help you get over into this new environment.