Reading And Exploiting

This series began with a general discussion of why and how to read and exploit your opponents’ emotions. Then it focused on two types of emotional players, Maniacs and Rocks. Now we’ll look at Calling Stations, extremely loose-passive players.

Maniacs are the easiest players to recognize. They play far too many hands, and they play them much too aggressively. They bet and raise with hands most players would fold.

Calling Stations are much less obvious than Maniacs, but more visible than average players. They play far too many hands, chase with nearly hopeless draws, check when they should bet, call when they should raise, and almost never bluff.

It’s the worst style. Maniacs lose more money, and they lose it more quickly, but they occasionally get lucky and have huge wins. They aggressively force out opponents, and, when they have a winner, they get great action.

Calling Stations lose more slowly than Maniacs, but much more consistently. They give too much action on their losers, don’t get enough action on their winners, don’t steal pots, and can’t win without showing down the best hand.

Why Do They Choose Such a Hopeless Style?

It satisfies their emotional needs. They care much less about winning than feeling good about themselves and their relationships with other players.

They want pleasant relationships and are afraid of rejection. They call with weak cards because they want to be involved; we even use the term, “family pot,” for one involving many players. They rarely raise and almost never check-raise because they want to be “nice.”

Their style creates the kinds of relationships they crave. Most players are delighted to have such consistent losers in their games. Of course, they get frustrated when the Calling Stations draw out, but it’s a small price to pay for having such consistent losers.

They’re afraid of looking foolish. If an aggressive player bluffs or overplays his hand and gets called, everyone can see his mistake. If a Calling Station makes a bad call and loses, he can quietly fold. Nobody sees his mistake.

They’re afraid of folding winner. They felt terrible after folding cards that would have drawn out and won a big pot. They chase to avoid repeating that feeling.

They’re especially afraid of being bluffed. It’s related to the previous fear, but much more intense. They were so devastated by folding the best hand that they make extremely loose calls on the river.

How Can You Recognize Them Quickly?

Of course, the most reliable signal is the way they play, but it takes a while to see the pattern. The faster you can identify their style, the better results you’ll get.

This discussion is based on the principle described in previous columns: People play poker the way they do other things. If someone’s voice, manner, and gestures suggest passivity and indifference to winning, he’s probably loose and passive. The more signals you see, the more confidence you can have, and the more extreme the player is likely to be.

Quickly identifying Maniacs is important; they can hurt you in many ways. Quickly identifying Calling Stations is much less important. They can hurt you only by drawing out. However, it still pays to identify them quickly. Look for the following signals.

More interested in socializing than winning. It’s the most reliable non-playing cue. If someone doesn’t know that it’s his turn to act, or whether the pot has been raised, or who made the raise, if he chatters away as if he’s at a cocktail party, and doesn’t seem to care whether he wins or loses, he’s probably a Calling Station.

Soft voice, passive words and gestures, an accommodating, friendly manner, and a placid face. Calling Stations are soft-spoken and friendly to players and non-players such as waitresses, dealers, and spectators.

General relaxation. Passive players are more relaxed than aggressive ones, and – because they don’t care much about winning – Calling Stations are the most relaxed of all. Some of them even resemble the cover boy of Mad Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman. Their whole manner says, “What, me worry?”

Nondescript clothes, jewelry, words, and mannerisms. Anyone who deliberately presents a low profile is probably passive, but not necessarily loose. Once you recognize passivity, you can assess looseness in other ways.

A gentle or even timid betting manner clearly suggests passivity. For example, if they tentatively place their chips so close to them that they seem afraid of intruding, they are probably passive. Again, you have to make a separate estimate of looseness.

Posting unnecessarily. When they first arrive at a table, smart people wait for the blinds. Anyone who posts in a middle or early position clearly signals looseness and indifference to winning. They want to get involved and don’t care that it’s negative expected value (EV).

Obviously, the less time he is willing to wait, the stronger the signal is. Refusing to wait just one or two hands is a very strong signal that someone doesn’t care about winning.

The way he posts can tell you about aggression. Loose-aggressive players may do it forcefully or say something like this: “I’m here to gamble!” Calling Stations will just post their blinds quietly, and a few of them seem apologetic. Their manner almost says, “Sorry to butt in.”

When someone joins that game, observe how others react to him. They may already know him.

Very visible welcomes. If several players welcome him, and they look as if “lunch is served,” he’s obviously weak, but what kind of weak player is he? If you see some fear, he’s probably a loose-aggressive player because they scare some people.

If someone is very welcome, but nobody seems apprehensive, the new player is probably loose-passive. The more welcome he is, the more confident you can be that he’s a Calling Station.

Very direct remarks. Someone may occasionally say something like, “Here comes a Calling Station.” or “He never saw a hand he didn’t like.”

Extreme Respect for His Bets and Raises. If people fold quickly when he bets and very quickly fold when he raises, he’s probably a Calling Station. People know that he doesn’t bet without a good hand or raise without a monster.

Lack of Complaints When He Draws Out. It’s a subtle signal, but it can be reliable, especially if such complaints are made about other people. If nobody says anything when someone rivers a two-outer or makes a backdoor flush to win a big pot, they weren’t surprised, and they don’t want to say anything that would offend or educate him. They want him to keep chasing and keep losing. Since it’s easy to recognize Maniacs, and you’ve seen that the winner isn’t one, he’s probably a Calling Station.

The Bottom Line

Calling Stations are your ideal opponents. They lose more consistently than every other type, and they can hurt you only by drawing out. Select games with many callers and few raisers. They’re very easy to beat.

My next column will tell you how to adjust to Calling Stations and games that are full of them. ♠

“Dr. Al” ([email protected]) coaches only on psychology issues. For information about seminars and webinars, go to propokerseminars.com. He is David Sklansky’s co-author of DUCY? and the sole author of four poker psychology books. Please visit my website, Dr-Al-Schoonmaker.net. You can check out many articles, blogs, videos, and books. Please visit my website, AlanSchoonmaker.com and get a free book.