What strategy do you use against a constant caller?

[Jon Poker]

Looks like value comes up a lot. With a value hand, such as KQo and as the middle opener should I:
Get to the flop cheap?
Double bet and a half?
All-In?

The flop comes with K72 and having KQo, I bet X1 BB? X2?

The auto-caller calls.

The turn comes with X card. I check. The auto-caller bets X1? X2?

Should I take the shot or fold?

I should have this in another forum, but not sure how to move the thread. Shucks.

Thanks to all for your input!

Dan'O Rookie
:five:

I am going to throw together a hand sample and run you through how I would play such.
For this example we are going to say you are playing a tournament whether SNG or MTT - and the blinds are 50/100 no ante
Both of you are stacked around the 6500 - 7500 range. Here goes what I would do::

Villan is UTG+2 and Hero is in the CO

Hero holds

UTG+2 limps -- Hero Raises to 325 -- action folds around, Villan Calls

Flop comes

Safe flop for us -- Pot should be 775 I would lead out here for 425-450 - Villan Calls
***If the villan is to check raise us here, depending on the raise size i would call and proceed with caution or just consider folding and getting it in at a better point down the road.

Turn comes -- great card for us -- pot around 1,675 -- I barrel again for 900 - 1000 -- Villan calls -- if villan raises in this spot I would likely proceed with almost anything aside from an all in

Pot is now 3,475 - 3,675

If the river comes and brings us a flush I barrel again for 2,100 - 2,500 and call off any bet the villan makes. Now, for the example of NOT bringing in the flush....

We will say river comes -- changes nothing for us, I barrel the river for an easy 1,500 - 2,000. If you want to take a more cautious approach - check call your opponent on the river.

I hope this example all laid out will help you to see what we are all talking about -- if you were playing this hand with K10 (or a lesser kicker without 2 pairing) - i wouldnt play it nearly as aggressive as KJ KQ AK are all crushing you.

 

[smknginmaine]

If there's "constant caller" - literally- Ha, play tight 'n right. Print money and rejoice. If you mean really agro, it depends. For me, in cash game live, if this player is unknown I 'll make some adjustments that lean tighter an focus more on info on the player..... If I feel they're a better player than I am after awhile, or I'm not sure. In which case I assume they are... And they're to my direct left I'll change tables 1st, seat 2nd. If can't do that play tighter and cautious or comeback tomorrow.
Of course.....If they're just a calling station having fun. Then I'm buying their drinks (casinos in Maine can't give away alcohol but patrons can buy each other drinks) talking, laughing, and being grateful.

 

[andsws]

Shove and shove again only if you got the cards to beat him though...

but yes just up your aggression... dont let him know it bothers you though or he'll play on it until he has no more blinds left lol

Stop when the fun stops or when your Blinds run out

True story. You need to be a little bit agresive and to shove a lot. Sometimes i just make big bets to send him away but this is not always a good strategy

 

[whosdaboss25]

I can't bet K8os into a player like this because that's when he shows up with KK or AA on you and takes your whole stake when you do. You have to wait for a better holding then K8os suit to bet into this guy you describing or he will drain your stack in a heartbeat even though he seems like he is a call station and probably is by all means you need to tighten up and play only +EV hands against this guy and guess what K8os isn't one of them just be patient and when a good hand comes along pounce and take him for a ride that he can't recover from.

 

[NHequalsFU]

Hello. What strategy do you use when you are up against one other player, you are to his right, leading the betting. No matter what you do and in spite of what you bet the other continues to call. If you check the other bets. If you bet, they call. You are in mid-position, mid-stack, against a person of the same size stack. The board has a Kc7h2s. My hole cards are Kh8d. What would you do?
:listen:

The best way to play against calling stations is to take them on a trip to value town.

If you have a marginal hand keep the pot on the small side.

If you have a monster then bet for some value.

Most good players will pick up on betting patterns though so only use this against a known "station".

 

[duson]

Adjust your ranges to bet and bet heavily when you have a strong hand that hits, otherwise don't waste your chips.

 

[WhiskeyFix]

Tighten up and only play the top 15 hands. And Shove hard.

It’s the only way.

 

[1k95]

If you have collected a strong enough combination, you automatically have the need to grow the bank. Just make moderate bets and your opponent will dutifully call them.

 

[TeUnit]

You can just value bet them to death. Another thing you can do is change your bet sizing you can increase it for value. Some calling stations fold alot to cbets and some will be more sticky. Against the stations that fold to cbets alot you can decrease your bet size for bluff and against stations that never want to fold just increase the sizing of your cbet for value.

 

[Jon Poker]

You can just value bet them to death. Another thing you can do is change your bet sizing you can increase it for value. Some calling stations fold alot to cbets and some will be more sticky. Against the stations that fold to cbets alot you can decrease your bet size for bluff and against stations that never want to fold just increase the sizing of your cbet for value.

Switching gears alot is definitely helpful - but i usually keep my cbets around the same range for bluffs and value bets...makes it much more difficult to single out what i may and may not have. I find out you are cbetting me with a smaller size because you wiffed - im raising you, or flatting and looking to steal it on the turn, if i find out your normal sizing usually means you caught a piece, it generally makes my decision easier. If you are mixing it up constantly and/or not deviating much in your bet sizes - you will be much harder to "read".

Just my .02

 

[JBGoode]

Generally I stick to my standard range. (Dont tighten up or loosen up pre flop) and just play ABC poker. Try and get 2 or 3 streets of value on top pair good kicker. Of course board texture plays a role, and you want to stay within your equity on a typical situation...

NEVER bluff.... doing this you will gain info on how often they will float the flop after you open, and how aggressively they will Double barrel on Turns when you check call with MP good kicker, or draws. This comes in handy when evaluating the board, and look to check raise for value to see if they will call you with less.

Finally I would (on most boards) Double even Triple barrel Top pair for value. Now when I say value obviously your gonna go a little smaller on Turn and river streets cause Top Pair (especially on wet connected boards) dont hold a lot of value. Will you lose sometimes? Absalutely, but I can promise you. At least 60% of the time/session/MTT you will show a profit against this player even if they do have it a time or 2.

 

[Ropa]

Only play with good hands, it's not worth taking a action if you don't hit anything in the flop, because you may be sure he/she will call your bet anyway.

 

[Jon Poker]

Only play with good hands, it's not worth taking a action if you don't hit anything in the flop, because you may be sure he/she will call your bet anyway.

I disagree....if you give up on every flop you dont hit eventually they are going to realize they can exploit you by making you fold whenever you miss. You need to cbet from time to time, not just everytime you have it or dont.

 

[This Fish Chums]

In this situation with top pair weak kicker, I would bet low hoping he tries trapping me instead of checking and knowing he is going to throw out a c-bet to push you off your hand. Since he calls/bets any two cards there would be no way of knowing what he is c-betting with, so leading out with a small bet and hoping he just calls is the way I would go.

 

[jbear54321]

I wait for good hands but I play them very aggressively when I get them. I make larger bets so that I'm taking a good amount of chips from them when they call me.