Bluffing a Calling Station is like Planting Cut Flowers

By Al SPath

Even the best poker players can't convince "calling stations" to fold. They are incapable of understanding or realizing this concept, so the best advice would be to curtail your efforts and take steps to avoid wasting your time and more importantly, your chips. Tactics work better on players who consciously notice pot odds, know whether their starting hands have worth or expected improvement possibilities, concepts that avid calling stations do not consider.

Let's be clear about "bluffing" and "semi-bluffing", and define what we mean. To "bluff" entails making a sizeable bet that is designed to make your opponent fold and your hand has no chance of winning the pot if called. To "semi-bluff" means you have a hand that has potential of improving and winning if called, however, you are attempting to win the pot on that round of betting. Should you fail to convince your opponent to fold, you do have outs to improve and still win the hand, or if you miss, to "bluff" and try to win the hand anyway.

When you play against players oblivious to your strategies, they will ruin your attempts to control the pot and manipulate the table into doing what you want. Therefore, making these "moves" against a calling station will result in frustration for the bettor and hilarious comments in the chat box or in the forum. Players who play any two cards, any ace, and any two suited or connected cards are usually lurking at your tables, whether online or live, and identifying your common opponents will make your task a bit easier and save you chips.

So how do you combat these individuals (who are plentiful in large field tournaments), do you lower your starting hand requirements and play like them? Do you get frustrated and lose your emotional stability when you lose to them? Or do you recognize the situation at hand, stick to your game play, continuing to show extreme patience and discipline (especially early in the event when so many calling stations are active and getting busted or catching and busting others)?

If you are at a particular poker table, it is your responsibility to identify (quickly), those who have skills and those who are lacking both experience and poker expertise, just by observing their betting patterns, the number of pots entered, whether they care about position, and of course, the non-quality starting cards displayed at showdown. Knowing how your opponent disregards the fundamentals of playing winning poker still does not entitle you to win against them. They will still play for pots they shouldn't and they will get "lucky." Again, it's your responsibility to isolate on the weak player(s) and to get a match up with them when you are clearly the heavy favorite. You must understand you will rarely be 100% favored to win, so expect an occasional suckout that may wound your existing stack size, or in some cases eliminate you from an event. Having said that, you want to be in position to gather an incredible amount of chips from weaker players, so embrace the challenge and be vigilant in your attempt to trap them and eliminate them.

Because we have so much interest in poker and participation (all with the dream to be a bracelet winner and world champion player), poker has emerged into such a popular sport in recent years. It has spawned a new set of career paths in announcing newly created poker TV shows, books, articles and online cardrooms. How tough would the tables be if everyone was as good as or better than you? We need the influx of new players, some initially lacking the skills to do extensive damage, but none-the-less often can be an obstacle that good players must encounter with strategy and plan to defeat.

Before I conclude this article I must pay tribute to the "calling station." Now, let me see, what is that number for FTD?

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About the Author:
Al Spath is the "Dean" at PokerSchoolOnline, and has authored: the "Poker Journal." In addition to having one place for all your poker records you'll get advice and tips on reading hands, playing live, reading tells and so much more (www.alspath.com). Al's poker expertise coupled with his insight and ability to communicate effectively to both large and smaller sized audiences, make him an ideal speaker for any company, convention, college, or organizational group venue. Al co-hosts a monthly radio show with Konan Luce and Cowboy Kenna James (The Online Poker Insiders) - stored podcasts available at (http://www.pokerpages.com/poker-podcasts/)

Comments to: AlSpath@pokerschoolonline.com

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