Playing Against a Calling Station

[ActionMatt]

Suppose you are playing a STT and the player on your right is a calling station. Everytime it is folded around to him he limps in and every time players limp in front of him or there is a small raise he calls.
Of course you like him doing this because he is putting chips into lots of pots...most of which he will be an underdog, and you should get more value when you flop a good hand. However, all his calling leaves you with few clues as to what he may be holding. Part of me says, "okay ill raise enough to where he MUST be holding cards to call before the flop". But my other half says "use a more passive strategy and force him to bet his good hands instead of just letting him call it down every time and that should be a good indicator of whether he is strong or not."
What strategy should i use to get a good read on a calling station and ultimately make him pay for his terrible strategy

[Alex/Mugaaz]

[ QUOTE ]
Suppose you are playing a STT and the player on your right is a calling station. Everytime it is folded around to him he limps in and every time players limp in front of him or there is a small raise he calls.
Of course you like him doing this because he is putting chips into lots of pots...most of which he will be an underdog, and you should get more value when you flop a good hand. However, all his calling leaves you with few clues as to what he may be holding. Part of me says, "okay ill raise enough to where he MUST be holding cards to call before the flop". But my other half says "use a more passive strategy and force him to bet his good hands instead of just letting him call it down every time and that should be a good indicator of whether he is strong or not."
What strategy should i use to get a good read on a calling station and ultimately make him pay for his terrible strategy

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't bluff, and you value bet relentlessly.


edit:spelling

[ActionMatt]

k but what if you are heads up against this type of player and you cant wait for strong hands to value bet down to the river. Its going to be a difficult heads up match against a calling station if i never adapt a strategy. Should i aim to raise more or play tighter and wait for him to actually bet his hands

[Alex/Mugaaz]

This really depends on the blind levels, and just how passive he is. If you're going to be in position, your hand is almost always playable since he will check to you everytime he doesn't have something. You can value bet with middle and bottom pair most the time. There is a lot more to this, and I'm not able to write a detailed post now since I'm at work. Check out the back of HOH2 for detailed information.

[damaniac]

The concept is still the same: value bet. The only thing that changes is the standard for a value bet. Multiway you're looking for top pair/top kicker or better hands. HU, and if we're HU at the end of a tourney which appears to be what you are addressing, against a player who will call with anything, you should value bet basically any pair, as well as overcards and good draws on the early streets, backing off later on when you miss.