NL Cash - how to deal with calling stations

[redCashion]

I had a pretty donkish villain at 1/2 NL on Stars last night, I ran him over early and then he pretty much evened it up. But this was his tactic, and I'd like some advice on dealing with it.

A) Play 60% of all hands, limp about half of them on the button.
B) When faced with a raise after a button limp, snap call. Proceed to snap call the flop and turn 80% of the time. If it's checked to him, minbet and snapcall a raise. Call a triple barrel with bottom pair on board even though I'd only been bluffing at small pots.

So how do I adjust?

* Putting pressure on him didn't seem to work because he wasn't being moved off pots.

* Tightening up didn't seem to work because I was playing so many limped pots with him out of position, but c/f seemed really week to do over and over since I wasn't making any hands. So I felt obliged to make moves on some pots, which kept ending futilely since he would call me down so light.

Essentially he was an ideal opponent, because he would call my raises in position with hands like 26o and give me great value on 2 or 3 streets of betting when I hit. He would also allow me to see tons of flops for free, and again pay me off if I hit. But when I stopped hitting, his calling station ways became very frustrating and I probably tilted off half a buyin just trying to win a pot.

[PerDoom]

Value bet more, bluff less. LDO

[redCashion]

Ya, great thanks. It just gets hard to value bet when you can't make a hand, and it's hard to concede dozens of hands in a row. Dealing with these guys is easy in 6max, but I'm new to HU and had a hard time adjusting to playing so many more hands with a guy like this.

[abcjnich]

Remember that 1bb still only equals 1bb. Don't get caught up in thinking that you have to steal his limps. Conceding 10 small hands in a row and losing maybe 30bb is worth it when you actually hit and he calls down 2-3 barrels with [censored].

Also try keeping the pot small until you make a hand. Maybe you have 87 out of position in a limped pot and the flop is 246. Don't go crazy. Maybe stick out a couple mini blocking bets. Against a good player you probably wouldn't do this, but it's about adjusting to your opponents.

[Vinetou]

I also played one guy like that and I have a theory about how to deal with him. Calling stations call until the river. On the river they usually fold, because they don't make hands when they call double barrell with 34 on K72 flop for example.

So, I decided to raise a lot of pots preflop, even OOP. If I didn't hit the flop, I checked until the river where I made a bet or not. If I hit, then I bet the whole pot on all streets, maybe even overbet all in on the river.

The only problem with this strategy is that these people don't value bet. So I waited until the river to bluff him and he called me with a top pair, which he hit it on the flop. So I stopped bluffing him and it is nothing wrong if you just don't bluff him.

So - raise preflop (with all kind of hands - even suited connectors and other stuff), if you hit, you fire multiple barrells, if not, just check it until the end. The problem with only limping is that you can't make a lot of money. Even calling stations don't call an overbet a lot.

This is just a theory, so please, don't berate me if you feel it is stupid but I feel it should work.

How do you like my theory?

[PerDoom]

your theory sucks. seriously it isn't hard to beat these people. limp a lot on the button with your other marginal hands since they don't raise and just value bet them like crazy.

[Vinetou]

[ QUOTE ]
your theory sucks. seriously it isn't hard to beat these people. limp a lot on the button with your other marginal hands since they don't raise and just value bet them like crazy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Calling stations are not so stupid that they would call a 10 dollar bet into a 4 dollar pot, that is why I think about raising preflop. However, I was wondering if this theory just increases varinace but I don't feel so. If I want to stack them when I flop the monster, I have to raise preflop. Otherwise I just can't.

[PerDoom]

I didn't say don't raise with your good hands. Just raising with 56s isn't really optimal against these guys because these guys never fold and six high is hardly a good hand to be increasing the pot with. Although really, preflop doesn't matter a whole lot. Just bet bet bet when you have something postflop.

[jay_shark]

Vinetou , don't worry about variance . If you're properly bankrolled , then it shouldnt be a consideration .

Just value bet with your good hands . The only downfall is that your checks will indicate weakness but you will only be checking with hands that you believe is second best .

The only time you would consider checking your strong hands is when you feel that your opponent is a bluffing type calling station . A player who will call you down with plenty of hands but would also bluff at pots quite frequently .

[Vinetou]

I am not worry about variance. Not at all. I meant to say that theory might do no good except increase variance. Then I said that this is probably not true. Read it again, jayshark.

And I was talking about loose passive calling stations, the ones who never bluff and also miss a lot of value bets. I played a guy like that yesterday and I thought about the optimal play against him and the theory worked quite well for me. I think I raised with JT OOP and then I stacked him when I made a four card straight and he could not fold his pair. Something like that. I don't find the hand history though. Great that someone started a thread like that, otherwise I would.

Also, be very patient with this guy and don't try to win every pot like you would otherwise.