What Do You Do When Your Table is a Calling Station

I'm playing in some micro MTTs on PS....well, I was playing, anyway what I took most away from the last tourney was a lot of tables seem to be calling stations. I could raise 3-5x the blind routinely and 80% of the table would just call. Now I realize that could be indicative of how much respect I am getting from the fellow players, but I had second largest stack at the break and I noticed it wasn't exclusive to me either. Everyone was getting called.

Is this common for tournaments? And what's the best strategy? I have been experimenting more with an aggressive style that will narrow the field and put me in showdown or three handed flops but that doesn't seem to be happening. Do I just need to raise more or change my strategy back to tight but aggressive?

By the way, I found this place about a month ago. Great site.:icon_thum

Wait for a huge hand and then push hard!

Shadowplay said:

that could be indicative of how much respect I am getting from the fellow players

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This does not exist in micro online tourneys.

The general consensus here in these spots is too tighten up even further. Wait for premium hands and if you get them, then play them hard! 4X or even 5X BB preflop raises if you know there'll be fish willing to call. Marginal hands become less playable at these tables. Hands like KQ, QJ, KJ etc If you start raising these up from middle position and continually get 3 or 4 callers behind you, then you're rarely going to be in great shape post-flop - too much chance you've hit their range. The other thing to do at these tables is set/flush/straight mining in the first few blind levels. If you're in position and continually gettting loads of players limping/calling before you - if the price is cheap then play those pps and suited connectors.

Easy answer-fold. Let go of the marginal hands like 2 gappers. Then hit em hard with top hands. Glad you like the site-shop early and shop often.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I try to see a lot of flops for cheap, I'll call if I'm one card off hitting a straight or flush - if it isn't too much. And when I hit something big I start betting so that they'll stay in.
***Method doesn't work if you're not hitting.

To beat calling stations, tighten up and value bet them till they are broke.

Shadowplay said:

I'm playing in some micro MTTs on PS....well, I was playing, anyway what I took most away from the last tourney was a lot of tables seem to be calling stations. I could raise 3-5x the blind routinely and 80% of the table would just call. Now I realize that could be indicative of how much respect I am getting from the fellow players, but I had second largest stack at the break and I noticed it wasn't exclusive to me either. Everyone was getting called.

Is this common for tournaments? And what's the best strategy? I have been experimenting more with an aggressive style that will narrow the field and put me in showdown or three handed flops but that doesn't seem to be happening. Do I just need to raise more or change my strategy back to tight but aggressive?

By the way, I found this place about a month ago. Great site.:icon_thum

Click to expand...

Raise more hands in late p[position, many fewer in early position unless they are premiums. Play UBER tight before antes. No point stealing before then. Raise for value, not to steal until those antes kick in.

Be prepared to give up with KK when you get 4 callers and an ace flops. some bottom feeding maggot didn't fold his ace rag.

if you get a good hand on the button and a bunch of guys limp... raise HUGE - 3x + 1 per limper minimum. Punish the limpers. It's much easier to thin the field from the button then UTG+1

Also, if raises are getting 4 callers, then re-raising in position will be very profitable. Every hand is a squeeze waiting to happen.

And yeah.. take them to value town when you make a hand. overshove strong hands too, nothing wrong with re-raisng Aces or Kings allin for 50BB in a microfest - you'll be shocked how often garbage comes along.

Shadowplay said:

I'm playing in some micro MTTs on PS....well, I was playing, anyway what I took most away from the last tourney was a lot of tables seem to be calling stations. I could raise 3-5x the blind routinely and 80% of the table would just call. Now I realize that could be indicative of how much respect I am getting from the fellow players, but I had second largest stack at the break and I noticed it wasn't exclusive to me either. Everyone was getting called.

Is this common for tournaments? And what's the best strategy? I have been experimenting more with an aggressive style that will narrow the field and put me in showdown or three handed flops but that doesn't seem to be happening. Do I just need to raise more or change my strategy back to tight but aggressive?

By the way, I found this place about a month ago. Great site.:icon_thum

Click to expand...

Wait for a good hand and value town him.

You have to wait for a really big hand and then bet a lot. Also, stay in on mid to low pocket pairs and try to trip. Other than that I would say fold marginal hands and just be patient.

tighten up and wait for a big hands giving you a much bigger edge in taking down a big pot but watch out for suckouts as they are very frequent when you cant get players to fold any sort of hand

you always want to tighten up a table like this so you have the best chance of dominating 2-3 ppl on the flop and may be able to get one of them to send u their whole stack by the river

I am probably alone in my thinking (what else is new), but if your whole table is a calling station, the odds are overwhelmingly against you regardless of what you do. Tightening up probably will give you the best odds, but someone will call and beat your pocket K's eventually, particularly if 3 others call - where your hand may actually drop to less than 50% chance of winning.

The best way to counter the calling stations is to play tighter by playing premium hands to give yourself the best chance to beat them.

There are a few good rules for calling stations that ive always remembered:
Tighten up; play in position; and when a calling station decides to raise instead of call, even a small pathetic min-raise----BACK OFF----he has the nutzoas.

Calling stations and limpers are the rule at micro tourneys. I certainly agree with the consensus: play uber tight, when you hit, value bet them to death!
Totally disagree with the guy who says become a call station yourself and hope to get lucky. no...no no no, not for this boyoh.

Calling stations and limpers are the rule at micro tourneys. I certainly agree with the consensus: play uber tight, when you hit, value bet them to death!
Totally disagree with the guy who says become a call station yourself and hope to get lucky. no...no no no, not for this boyoh.

I am actually of the opposite philosophy than most folks here. The ol', "playing the opposite of your opponents theory." Tightening up against loose players and playing looser against tight players. Hear me out and let me know what you think...

Against multiple loose players who are calling stations, I play more semi-strong hands and not just the premium hands. I also would not be raising 4 - 5 times the BB. As we all know at the micro tables, no one respects the raise and will call anyways with ATC.

I either limp or min-raise with all kinds of hands from 10 - 9 suited up to my AK and pocket pairs. No one ever knows if you are strong or weak because you play your junk and your premium hands the same.

Most of these guys just call rather than re-raise (because they are not that sophisticated.) See a flop and if it hits you, push with it. I don't do huge bets (value bet every street), but enough for multiple players to hang themselves with bottom or middle pair. If you know they are "gut-shot chasers", you can also do the "stopper bet." (A min bet gets then to call rather than lead out themselves.) You will need to bluff a lot less and only stay in when you've hit.

Also, if the flop doesn't hit you, you can get out of the hand cheap. Remember you only limped or min-raised to see the flop. You can get out without being pot committed.

It's great being in a pot with multiple calling stations when you hit as now you are siphoning money from multiple chasers.

If your bankroll is limited and you have very loose players, tightening up and trapping is a guaranteed way to go. But if you are feeling frisky, give my theory a try and let me know how it goes.

AJ

Very common for lower stakes tournies, and very easy strat. Limp with hands you can flop the nuts with (87s, 10Js) and bet BIG on hands you love (KK, AA, QQ). Even with hands like JJ, 1010, AK you may want to limp and get your chips in post flop because if everyone is calling a missed flop or single overcard can cause fear.

This is probably why tournaments are so frustrating for me right now...becuase I play at the micro levels.

All the skill and strategy in the world goes out the window when you pretty much are forced into shove/fold mode right from the start.

Suited connectors? No, because you won't see a flop without committing your stack. Small pairs for set mining? No, because you won't see a flop without committing your stack. TT, JJ, QQ? Again, you're going to have to commit most or all of your stack against multiple callers, even in the first blind level. KK, AA?

It's extremely frustrating to play tournaments at the micro levels. =/