Dealing with Pre-Flop Overbets in Poker
When you encounter a poker player who is regularly betting a significantly larger amount than the standard three to four times the big blind, you are in a position to extract a lot of money from him over the long run, if you play against him effectively relative to your position. In a full ring game, a very simple strategy can be employed from any position – wait for a premium pocket pair, call his bet pre-flop and call his continuation bet or raise it. However, in a shorthanded game, a different type of play can be applied.
In a 6-max game, if you are in position against a maniac who overbets, you can play large pocket pairs, as well as large suited cards or two face fards, and play them profitably by just calling his preflop raise and calling on the flop on average one in every four times. Play large hands against him aggressively, and if he folds to raises, switch to a normal tight aggressive game with a larger hand range.
In a full ring game, a poker player like this will go broke very quickly, and if you can be lucky enough to be the first one to pick up a strong preflop hand against him, you will likely stack him, or set him up for a session where he will lose a lot of money back to the entire table. Never shy away from a situation where you can make a lot more than you can lose, and in this case, if you get coolered and lose a few buyins, it is warranted, as this player could potentially leak off a large amount of money. Online poker is synonymous with random steaming players who overbet and throw away money, so finding one like this is a dream situation. Be patient, play tight and evaluate post-flop situations where you could get all your money in with a good chance to win.
