How to Play against Calling Stations?

Stations or calling stations are known to call a lot and not raise enough. They are passive players, both pre-flop and post flop, and usually like to go to showdowns. Poker is all about reading your opponents minds and taking advantage of their mistakes, and gaining edge against calling stations is the easiest.

A calling station is basically a competitor who exercises very little control on the hand and allows the other player to manage the betting. He can also call the bets if by chance he strikes a piece on the board or can have any kind of draw. The player will  raise and fold very little, until and unless he does not have anything. There are basically various types of calling stations. They are premium card callers and the sheriff. The sheriff calls every bet which thus stops the other players from bluffing on the table. He thus maintains honesty among everyone. The sheriff just pays to participate at the showdown even though he knows that he does not have the best hands in the table. He just ensures and checks that there is no other player bluffing.

The calling station strategy in sheriff is that the player should not bluff with the sheriff. In premium card callers, it is regarded as one of the most unsafe types of callers. Here the calling card strategy of the premium card callers is to play tight but also calls the cards all through the showdown. These players are very unsafe as their original preliminary cards are stronger and are very precious thereby suiting everything to make a good hand. These players can play the game all through the end of the game if they make a single or double pair. But the good thing about these players that they basically always stay less in hands as they generally wait for the strong pocket cards. Thus most of the time, one can go unnoticed.

The key to playing against calling stations is to bet the right amounts so as to have the odds in your interest. If you have a strong hand, you should bet it for the value. But one should not be crazy enough to bet huge, if even though your hand is good, there are chances that you could be beaten. Also, it is not a good idea to be bluffing with calling stations. Observe the opponents and then decide if they can be bluffed, but you must show some genuine good cards too.

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