Cash strategy – How to defeat calling stations

Life of a Poker Pro – Cash strategy – How to defeat calling stations

by Jonathan “JPK” Farrer

One of the most frustrating things in poker is having to tackle a player who just calls you down constantly. However, adapting your strategies to this method can lead to fruitful rewards in situations that aren’t usually possible, rather than dumping your chips off because of some unexplained vendetta.

Let’s take a look at the average “station”. They are named this because the majority of their decisions when involved in a hand is to call. This, believe it or not, is an advantage to you even though it may not seem that way.

The general idea is not to bother bluffing them, as you never quite know their range. They could be holding 43 or AK, limp in early position and call your button raise. If for example, I am holding a hand like AK/JJ, and the flop comes Qxx with draws, I’ll tend to slow down because if they have half of anything, they’re calling your bet. It’s not always the case, but it’s a good set of rules to stick by until you have further information on their patterns. Don’t try to make them fold when you have fresh air for cards, not unless you fancy lining their pockets.

If however, I’ve raised with a hand and I’ve hit (let’s say AQ or 44 on a Q74 board) I am going to fire at the pot viciously (at least a 75% pot-sized bet), and hope they’ve caught a part of it because if they have, guess what.. they’re calling, and they’re going to behind. I won’t get scared either; I will just continue to fire at them and make them pay. If you have a geniune hand DON’T get cautious because of their style and give free cards & cheap bets for them to call. If they end up catching up to your hand it’s your own fault. If you make them pay and they catch up, shrug your shoulders and move onto the next hand, but don’t contribute to your own downfall.

Similarly, if a calling station starts to get a little frisky, the alarm bells should be ringing. Remember, most of their decisions are call, so it doesn’t take a genius to work out that when they are raising, or reraising, you are probably behind. In the Q74 example, if we have AQ and have raised preflop only for them to call in late position, or in the blinds, and we have been raised on the flop, what hand can you put such a player on? The frequency that they raise with a hand like KQ/QJ that we are ahead of is not so much, so you can narrow down their holdings to something that has you in trouble. But this is by no means always the case.

No one is saying that stations are bad players (okay, a lot are), just a little different. They are capable of bluffing, but it’s usually narrowed down to certain scenarios. If you have a draw heavy flop of Q74 with 2 of a suit, and you get called on a big bet when the turn brings you an unsuited ace (we have AQ), and the river comes a complete brick, an unsuited 9, and the opponent gets frisky, there’s a large chance they’re bluffing after missing some kindof huge draw and is desperate. Maybe they’ve got a set, but you have to pay it off. I’ll take that chance long term.

Similarly, if a station has just been taken for a few buyins, they can tend to get a little frisky in spots they originally didn’t as they are chasing. When this happens simply play at your own pace and pick them off. The opposite can be said for when they double up; they’re far less likely to be getting involved after winning a chunk, and will be less inclined to raise with the strong holdings they were originally as they’re scared to lose “winnings”.

It’s easy to get frustrated and angry when you keep missing or drawn out on by what you believe to be a weaker player. But with a little extra care in risky situations, and an iron fist in favourable ones long term will lead to a far better success rate and less ibuprofen. At the end of the day just remember that you want a table full of calling stations rather JPK/KunkuWap types ;-)