Ais... I'm assuming you're talking about your local B&M...? At mine, hell 80-90% are complete calling stations... And I agree that it DEFINITELY sucks when they hit their draw (had a guy a couple days ago call my $25 PF raise, and then a push on the flop to crack my AA w/ his powerhouse ... Hell, at least they were sooooooted, right???

Anyway, I think that waiting until a time that you hit boat v. flush or flush v. higher flush are gonna be too rare, and you're gonna lose a lot of money chasing... What are the odds that if you're both chasing the same flush, the 3rd guy in the hand, with supposedly a "made hand" is gonna come out on top most of the time when you guys don't hit your reduced outs...?

I think that I make about 90% of my money from calling stations by pushing hard w/ 2pr and TPTK hands against opponents who can't let go of their TPNK or flush draws...

Hmm... I would say on the whole calling stations are probably the biggest source of profit for me in NL where you can isolate one, unlike playing low fixed limit games, where you will be schooled by three or more to the river. You are right that position is key to being able to best play them, but even out of position, check calling scare cards for reasonable bets is still appropriate and position isn't as necessary as playing TAGs or maniacs. They may decide to get cute with middle pair and place a reasonable bet, and usualy go nuts with better hands, so check calling isn't always a bad play, especially if you are getting 4:1 or better. I made a call last night with a weak hand that was getting 6:1 when I assumed he had top pair weak kicker, but at 6:1 I can afford to be wrong a lot and will obvioulsy pump up the pot with my very good and somewhat hidden hands like straights and sets.

Being able to have some sort of read on them really helps with the amount you should be betting and when you should slow down. I know that sounds obvious, but the more locked in my read is the harder I can push one pair hands on the river. AK AQ AJ vs A8, can very much become an all in hand, if you can determine that he just has the A. They can't see past top pair, if you can tell when they made two pair you will be in a great position to pillage with good kickers and sets. I tend to rarely value bet three suited boards even running flush cards, unless I have some sort of certainity that he doesn't have it. Is bottom pair hitting to make him three of a kind on the river an issue? This is another question that is best answered by watching what they consider a calling hand. They often check it down anyways hoping to check raise, I tend to check behind the first few times this happens to see what happens, but hopefully already have seen this scenario in other peoples pots. Calling stations are not unreadable, and while one that is likely to call raises preflop with any two is tougher to read, in unraised pots they can be read if you pay lots of attention. I like ones that like limping hate calling raises best, if they call a raise you can have groups of hands they think is playable and make assumptions on what they will do post flop.

Some calling stations give you the benefit of placing a blocking bet when they pick up a turned draw, I raise this and proceed with caution on the river. Other calling stations put in what appears to be a blocking bet when they made two pair or better, and still others just like blocking bets with top pair, a draw, better than one pair hands. Figuring out what that bet means to that opponent makes it easier to take the action that will be correct 75% of the time which will equal profit. If they are going ape, I have to have a very strong hand to the board to push back, or a draw to the super nuts.

In my raised pots with hands like AK that missed, I still make a continuation bet, and then hit the brakes when called, they do fold sometimes. AK AQ is often good with out help, but I don't want to push the issue with out help, the next two cards are going to be most likely free anyways unless they hit. They are going to call anyways with overs, small pairs, gutshots, and I after all have nothing. If there is more than one calling station in the hand in my raised pots, I don't even bother with betting the flop when I miss. However hitting the flop it is time to hammer until told otherwise. AA KK QQ JJ TT as overpairs, time to pound and take my lumps if they have a bigger pair when I hold an over pair.

I pound these guys relentlessly as much as possible but with in reason. But the truth of the matter is that I would be a very rich man if it wasn't for two and three outers. These are the opponents that you must know the largest possible value bet on the river they will call and use it with out abandon when you know you are ahead. Sometimes I start high and work my way down on the value bets, other times I go the opposite direction if I've seen them fold to a big river bet earlier.

Patience is the key when things aren't going right, they are going to lose to you and lose big and often. It just bites when they keep being on the right side of the short end of probabilty. They will screw up with trips to your boat, straights to your flushes, sucker ends of straights time and time again. If you have a great hand and they are wanting to get busy and muster up a raise, stack them, every time. If you are the most aggressive player at the table you have the best chance of taking all their money, if there are other aggressive players you might not get the chance to break them, but patience patience patience against them.

Hands from last night, fish min-raises, he has KJ AJ most likely, I re-raise QQ the pot and 5x, he calls, flop is JTT, I bet 2/3 the pot, he pushes the rest of his stack in the middle with QJ. I lost the pot, but this is a very profitable situation all around. Same guy, min raises I call with AJ, JJxTK, he has KJ. Again very profitable situation. I have QQ make the same preflop action, he leads at KJx flop, I fold he shows KJo.

It may appear frustrating, I barely made profit last night due to suck outs by this guy, but was in good position and playing solid hands and accepting defeat when it happened. This guy if he plays me long enough is going to lose buy in after buy in, I have little doubt of that. I think his quote was that he was down $370 for the week it is about time he started hitting. It is obvious that this guys game is a losing one even if it was "winning" last night.

This week against the other calling stations, AK vs. Ax, I stacked him on the river, it held up. Top set Queens beat the tar out of 99 unimproved that was all in. 77 vs AQ unimproved, I am having to re-think my opinion of that opponent, previously I thought him to be semi-solid. My personal favorite AA vs AJ all in preflop for full stacks, he will stack off with two face cards any pair, he would have played either the A or J all in on the flop, possibly unimproved.

Ais,

I just wanted to say thanks for the "Guidelines to palay the calling station". It s really good!
if you stick to that strategy it is sure that you will be taking all his money often.

I was playing against the worst player I have seen in my life a couple days ago and he took two buy ins from me with 2-3s and 10-8off against AA and KK, both setted, the first on the flop and the second in the turn. On the firt hand (23) he flopped bottom pair and called a 3/4pot bet. The turn another two, I bet 1/2pot and he raises, i go all in and he calls, the river is the fourth 2.

That kind of things get to you. I have to repeat that there is a healthier and objective way to look at this, and is in terms of Expected Value. That hand obviously makes you money, but you will lose it sometimes, and that is how it is. Understanding this has to keep us playing the A game. The key here is to wait for their lucky winning streak to finish and get our money back with interests.

The calling station filled table should be the poker player wet dream. They are very profitable.

Nice article/post especially for the beginners!

AlexMR