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What is Call Station in Poker
Call Station : A participant who finds it hard, or even impossible, to fold their hand laydowns . Their style typically involves making a lot of calls, especially with weaker or marginal cards that would normally be discarded.
From the definition, it's clear that calling stations are not skilled players. poker The ability to fold is an essential skill in poker. Recognizing the right moments to fold can distinguish between those who consistently lose and those who achieve significant winnings.
Nonetheless, calling stations can be tricky adversaries to contend with. This is particularly true if we usually adopt a strategy that involves frequent bluffing. Calling stations are adept at punishing players who attempt to bluff frequently.
So, how do we effectively counter opponents who refuse to fold? Here are our recommended strategies.
Tip 1 – Don’t Bluff! Ever!
It might seem that bluffing In certain situations, making that call with modest hands may seem justifiable. However, when our calling station adversary makes a surprising call with a Q-high hand to win the pot, we soon realize that it might not have been the best choice.
One crucial adjustment we need to make is to abandon all bluffing attempts when playing against calling stations.
Tip 2 – Consistently Value Bet (Avoid Slowplaying)
The main idea here is to maximize our chances of winning against calling stations by making solid hands and betting them. value-betting relentlessly.
We can anticipate that our opponent will likely call our value bets consistently. Therefore, it becomes a significant mistake not to bet when we have a robust hand. We must resist the urge to slowplay against calling stations, regardless of how tempting it might seem.
Tip 3 – Value Bet Thin
If we were exclusively to wait for strong hands, we would be playing somewhat tight and passive style of poker . Contrary to popular belief, we actually want to adopt a more aggressive approach against calling stations. We just need to ensure we select the right types of hands.
Since bluffing isn't a viable option, we substitute those bluffs with thin value bets. The term 'thin value' indicates that the value hand isn't overly strong yet still has a good chance of being paid off by weaker hands.
One example might be making a value-bet For instance, on the river, we might have second pair. Normally, we would perhaps choose to check this hand against a skilled opponent. However, knowing that a calling station could call with a bottom pair or even lesser hands gives us confidence. high-card type hands.
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Tip 4 – Be Wary of Aggression
Most calling stations tend to be passive. They generally don’t take aggressive actions without good reason. strong made hands That said, this observation isn't universally applicable. Some calling stations do engage in bluffing, but a typical calling station will mostly just check and call.
Thus, when a passive calling station unexpectedly starts betting or raising against us,
it's wise to give them credit. They likely have a stronger hand than we do.
This inclination further simplifies our strategy of placing thin value bets in later rounds. If our opponent had a superior hand, it’s likely they would have raised earlier.
Tip 5 – Adjusting Your Strategy on Earlier Betting Rounds
Betting purely for value may give rise to the misconception that we need at least a pair on the flop to start wagering. This notion is somewhat misleading, especially against calling stations.
We can definitely place bets with some of our non-made hands in earlier rounds if we approach it wisely. For example, betting a gutshot draw might not be the best option, given the risks involved when our opponent is likely to call without folding. ragged Q-high.
When we bet draws, we should usually choose those that possess some degree of showdown value. For example, betting both the flop and turn with AQ on a board of KT5 can still be a sound strategy if we know our opponent is a calling station. rainbow Not only are we likely to get calls from a wide range of worse hands, but we also inflate the pot.
While the typical calling station tends to be loose and passive, we cannot generalize this tendency too broadly. There might be calling stations who enjoy bluff-raising as well. size of the pot for a big payout, in case we hit.
Adjusting to Individual Opponents
Though this isn't the most common occurrence, we should observe our calling station opponent attentively to figure out when we might need to adjust our strategy. Typically, we fold often to calling station raises, but there will be situations where adjustments are necessary.
Another more frequent behavior that some calling stations display is an inflated perception of their made hands.
For instance, they may raise with a weak top pair on the flop, aiming for a 100bb stack. poker hands We would do well to note that “any top pair is the” for this player and ensure we are not folding a decent top pair too readily.
By doing a few quick checks, we can verify that we aren’t calling too liberally. nuts Examine the red line (non-showdown winnings) on our graph. An increasing (positive) red line can indicate that we are perhaps calling too wide. Although successful players may have positive red lines for various reasons, the majority of calling stations will show similar trends. kicker in the future.
Am I a Calling Station?
For those making use of tracking software Check our river fold to c-bet statistic. It generally makes sense for lower limit online players to have a “river fold to” statistic around the 60% mark. This is partly because the average low-limit player seldom bluffs rivers.
If we observe that our fold percentage is 50% or lower (across a reasonable sample), this indicates that we might be calling too widely against bets.
Timothy \"Ch0r0r0\" Allin is not only a professional player but also a coach and author. Since starting his journey back in 2006, he has grown his bankroll from the lowest online limits without ever making a deposit. After participating in some of the toughest competitions globally and achieving success, he now shares his experiences and strategies through the 888poker magazine. c-bet 888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2021-white
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