Exploiting Calling Stations’ Emotions

My last column said that Calling Stations’ emotions make them the easiest players to beat. They give too much action on their losers, don’t get enough action on their winners, and can’t win without showing down the best hand.

More specifically, they limp or cold-call preflop raises with very weak hands, chase with nearly hopeless cards, don’t bet or raise enough with their good hands, and rarely bluff.

Their emotions cause these mistakes. They care much less about winning than having fun, feeling good about themselves, and having good relationships with the other players. They are afraid of:

1. Being rejected
2. Looking foolish
3. Folding a winner
4. Being bluffed

If you understand and adjust well to their feelings, you will beat them more consistently than any players.

Reading Their Cards

Reading their calls is almost impossible. Since they chase with almost anything, you will often have no idea of why they called.

Reading their check-calls is equally difficult. They’ll check-call with hands that most players would bet or check-raise.

Reading their bets is easy. They don’t bet without solid hands.

Reading their infrequent raises and extremely rare three-bets couldn’t be easier. If they raise, they have a very good hand. If they three-bet, they have the nuts or something very close to it.

They rarely bluff, and, when they do, they often feel and look embarrassed. If you wonder whether a Calling Station is bluffing, look for signs of discomfort. If he seems comfortable and confident, bless his honest heart, and fold unless you have a good hand.

They almost never check-raise because it “isn’t nice.” When they do, they’ve probably got a monster.

Adjusting Your Strategy

To get the best results, you must control your own feelings, especially when their bad play costs you a pot. Instead, of getting angry, do whatever will make them feel comfortable. You may regard their comfort as irrelevant, but you’ll win much more money if they enjoy playing with you.

Never Criticize Their Play

You’ll take some horrible beats, but resist the temptation to say something like this:
“How could you make such a stupid call? The odds were 22:1 against you. If you keep playing that way, you’ll go broke.”

Attacking any kind of weak players is foolish. You don’t want them to quit or become tougher. Attacking Calling Stations is exceptionally stupid. They are not playing to win; they want to enjoy themselves, be accepted, socialize, and pass the time. The personal qualities that cause their mistakes make them sensitive to criticism. They are much more likely to quit than other weak players.

Or they may become much tighter and tougher if they realize that their style costs them both money and respect. They may not care much about the money, but they intensely want to be respected and liked.

Compliment Their Courage

When they catch a miracle card and give anyone – especially you – a bad beat, say: “You’re braver than I am. I’d never make that call.” Don’t say it sarcastically.
Compliments are rewards for doing exactly what you want them to do, keep making those loose calls. People repeat rewarded actions, and compliments are extremely cheap and effective rewards. You may hate complimenting them for drawing out on you, but it will increase your profits.

Bet Marginal Hands for Value

They will call you with weaker ones. If you check heads up, they will check behind you. So bet hands you would normally check. If they raise, fold.

Of course, sometimes they will just call and beat you. When that happens, you will feel foolish and may ask yourself. “Why did I make that stupid bet? If I checked, I would have gotten a free showdown.” That feeling is normal, but ignore it. Over the long run you will win much more by betting than checking.

Betting marginal hands when another player is behind the Calling Station can occasionally have wonderful results. The Calling Station calls with a loser, and the other player is afraid to overcall with the winner.

After seeing you win with a marginal hand, that player may believe you’re a loose-aggressive idiot. He will then give you more action with his marginal hands, further increasing your profits.

Don’t Bluff

Bluffing is usually a mistake. First, you’ll probably fail because they’ll call you with almost anything. Second, they may be offended by your trying to steal “their” pot. Remember, you want them to enjoy playing with you. Besides, since they will give you lots of action, you don’t need to advertise.

Don’t Call Their Bets Without a Good Hand

Since they bet only good hands and hardly ever bluff, you should fold marginal ones. Of course, if the pot odds justify a crying call, make it, but the odds should be much higher than usual.

If They Raise, Fold

They don’t raise without very good cards. If you don’t have enough to three-bet most players, you should probably fold.

Don’t Be Greedy and Try for Every Chip

You can easily get it, but playing so aggressively can make them feel you’re too “ruthless” or “selfish.” They may then leave the game or just avoid you. They may also switch from playing for fun to trying to beat you. They then become much harder to read and may even start bluffing you.

You’ll make more money by giving them a few breaks. For example, if you’re heads-up and have a big hand, you can occasionally just check. You lose a bet, but build goodwill with your best customer.

Don’t Do ANYTHING That Makes Them Look Or Feel Bad

For example, never show a successful bluff. Don’t check-raise when you’re heads-up (but it’s OK if there are other players). Don’t say anything that might be taken as an insult, even if most players wouldn’t mind it.

All this advice about being nice and not trying for every chip probably goes against your beliefs about how the game should be played. You’re good player and follow the books’ standard advice: “Try to maximize your profits.”

Virtually all books say nothing about protecting opponents’ feelings. In fact, most good players never even think about protecting those feelings.

The profit-maxing recommendations and “take no prisoners” attitude are fine when you’re playing against most people, but not when you’re with Calling Stations. With them you should apply one of the most basic principles of all successful businesses:

Make your best customers want to do business with you.

What’s Next?

This series has discussed reading and exploiting the feelings of the three most extreme types of emotional players: Maniacs, Rocks, and Calling Stations.

Playing with one of them can be frustrating, and some adjustments are difficult and stressful. When your game is full of them, the frustrations and adjustments become much worse. The next three columns will help you to cope with a table full of emotional players. ♠

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. Visit www.alanschoonmaker.com for access to his 14 books, 200+ articles, videos and podcasts.