Opponent Profiles: Playing against Calling Stations
by Cornholio
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Introduction
In this article
Like a rock, a calling station (CS, or station) is very passive. They make a lot of pre-flop calls and rarely raise. They also rarely bet or raise after the flop, but usually have a strong hand when they do. Unlike rocks, they see a lot of showdowns and call with hands that are not likely to win.
A lot of these players can be found in the lower limits and are the typical fish TAGs prey upon. They rarely force difficult decisions on you, since they never bluff. You can also make very thin value bets against them. Typical stats for a calling station are something like (50 / 7 / 0,6 / 45) (VPIP / PFR / AF / WTS).
What kinds of calling stations are there?
There is something all calling stations have in common: They call often and rarely raise. The question is, how do they react to a check? Many simply remain passive after you check. They will rarely value bet and never bluff. Others are willing to call with any hand, but just as sure to bet with any hand if you blink first and check.
There are some differences in how you should adjust your game to the two types of calling stations. Those who tend to bet if you check are susceptible to check/raises when you have initiative and easily induced to bluff. If you are facing the sort that remains passive, you should either bet, or check/fold.
And now it is time to address our question: How should you play against a calling station?
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#1
taavi1337, 14 Dec 09 15:06
Nice article. I think there are mostly calling stations and wannabe TAGs out there. Rocks and maniacs are not so common (but not rare either).