Are You a Calling Station?

A calling station is a poker player’s dream. When you sit down at a table and see that one player is unable to locate the fold button it is inevitable that a bit of drool will fall from your chin as you count up all the money you are about to win. If you are the calling station, however, it is an entirely different story. There are few quicker ways to deplete a bankroll than through being a calling station. It is a rather common problem that poker players tend to have. It is a natural human tendency to want to see every bit of information that is possible. The problem with fishing around for all the information you can is that it is going to really end up costing you in the long run. It is perfectly fine to call a few small bets every once in awhile if the goal is to obtain some information on your opponent, what is not OK is making calls because you “just have to see what they have” or because “you might be ahead.” The “I might be ahead” syndrome is the most popular line amongst most calling stations, they just hate to let go of their hand when there is a slight chance that they are ahead. Sure, you will make folds from time to time that were not correct, but this does not justify making non stop bad calls in hopes of eventually making one correct call.

Identifying Calling Stations

Poker is all about playing the odds. If your hand is good one out of ten times you will be lighting your money on fire nine times before you ever take down a pot. There is a distinct difference between poker players who are able to make solid calls and players who are just calling stations. Calling stations are always going to be wrong way more often than they are right. This is a defining characteristic that should help in determining whether you are a calling station. If you happen to maintain a profit while being wrong more often than you are right, well, then it is of course acceptable. The reality, however, is that a poor right to wrong ratio is almost always going to end up in losses, not profits.

Calling Station Rehab

If you find that you are a calling station, or are developing calling station tendencies, the best play is to re evaluate each move you make. You are probably making snap decisions as opposed to well thought out decisions. Before you make any move just take a step back and consider whether an alternative move might be better. If you do this for a few thousand hands it should really cut back on your looseness. Another option is to commit to folding whenever you have any small (legitimate) shreds of doubt about a call that you are contemplating. This wouldn’t be an optimal long term strategy, but it would be great for helping to cut down on any calling station tendencies you may have developed. There is no reason that any player should remain overly loose, it is a waster of money and it is a guaranteed losing strategy. All it takes is a little will power to apply a solid, tight, and aggressive style of play.

SUMMARY: Are You a Calling Station

Calling stations are a poker player’s best friend. What many players fail to realize is that they themselves might be the one making the poor calls. Calling stations are too careless with their money, but the good news is that there are a few easy fixes.