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How to play against calling stations: bet for value and don't bluff

Against someone who calls almost everything, bluffs lose and value bets win more: bet bigger and thinner with your made hands.

A♠Q♣
The example hand: Hero in the CO, NL10 with 100 bb

The idea

A calling station calls a lot and folds little: they play lots of pots, reach showdown often and rarely raise. Against them, poker gets simpler: don't bluff and bet for value with any hand that's probably better than theirs.

How to spot one

In the stats: high VPIP, low PFR and high WTSD. At the table: they call bets on every street with middle pairs or draws, and show down weak hands.

How to play it

  • Bigger: if they're going to call anyway, make them pay more. Two-thirds of the pot or more with your value hands.
  • Thinner: top pair with a good kicker, and even second pair on some boards, is worth several streets because worse hands call you.
  • Fewer bluffs: a bluff only works if your opponent folds. Against them, give up the hand when you have nothing.
  • If they raise, believe it: passive players almost never raise as a bluff.

Common mistakes

  • Three-street bluffs against someone who never folds.
  • Betting small for value "so they call": they'd call a bigger bet just the same.
  • Checking the river with top pair out of fear: against them, it's a clear value bet.

The example hand, step by step

Watch it in the replayer to see it action by action.

Preflop A♠Q♣

  1. Key Hero in the CO with AQ A clear open. In the big blind sits a player who calls almost everything.
  2. Hero raises to 2.5 bb
    Good Standard open 2.5 bb from the cutoff.
  3. BB calls 1.5 bb
    Key The calling station calls They defend almost every hand and almost never 3-bet.

Flop Q♥8♣4♦

  1. Key Top pair, top kicker Queen, eight and four: we have top pair and an ace.
  2. Hero bets 3.5 bb (64% of the pot)
    Good Big value bet Two-thirds of the pot: against them there's no need to disguise anything. They call with any pair and with draws.

Turn 2♠

  1. Hero bets 8.5 bb (68% of the pot)
    Good Second street Very few hands beat us and lots of worse ones call: we keep betting.

River 7♣

  1. Hero bets 22 bb (75% of the pot)
    Good Third street of thin value Three-quarters of the pot with top pair. Against a normal player it would be risky; a calling station calls with a worse queen and even with middle pairs.

Showdown

  1. Good Three streets of value They call with a queen and a worse kicker: a 73.5 bb pot without bluffing once.

Against someone who calls everything, top pair with a good kicker is worth three big bets.

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