Somethings thats become apparant through the thread is that this category can be broken down further into sub-types. Players who play their mediocre hands passively (calling stations postflop) and those who play them aggressively. Versus the second kind, I like betting to induce just such behavior. I tend to think these guys all into the mistake of thinking "I have something, and if I raise he might fold anyway". Its like they give themselves outs without really considering them. Maybe I'm overthinking though and they just go "woohoo, a pair!".

Couple of examples:

Hand 1
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

BB ($60.92)
UTG ($17.25)
MP ($62.65)
CO ($46.10)
Button ($65.40)
Hero (SB) ($79.20)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
UTG raises $1, 3 folds, Hero raises $4, 1 fold, UTG calls $3.25

Flop: ($9) K, 8, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $3, UTG raises $13 (All-In), Hero calls $10

Turn: ($35) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($35) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $35

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
UTG had 3, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $33.25


Hand 2
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($13.25)
MP ($50.50)
CO ($65)
Hero (Button) ($51.25)
SB ($67.25)
BB ($55.90)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
2 folds, CO raises $1.75, Hero raises $6, 2 folds, CO calls $4.25

Flop: ($12.75) K, 9, 8 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $6, CO raises $59 (All-In), Hero calls $39.25 (All-In)

Turn: ($103.25) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($103.25) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $103.25


Results:
Hero had A, K (one pair, Kings).
CO had J, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $100.25


Anecdotally, people often seem to spaz out with a small-half pot sized c-bet in a 3-bet pot. Normally to induce this kind of reaction I'd use a half pot sized c-bet, because I feel really small ones look suspicious, however in the first one I kept it even smaller because of his stack size, to give him the impression he had room to bluff if he missed the flop.


Then you have your classic calling stations. I like to go for thinnish value versus these guys, as they really will call with such wide ranges I think we can bet a lot of hands for value that people dont consider. I also make my bets, especially my c-bets on the higher side for value. If they're going to call when behind, we should be getting them to call as high as possible:

Hand 3

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

CO ($74.30)
Hero (Button) ($46.10)
SB ($74.85)
BB ($37.95)
UTG ($18)
MP ($49.25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, 10
2 folds, CO calls $0.50, Hero raises $2.25, 2 folds, CO calls $1.75

Flop: ($5.25) 10, 2, A (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $4, CO calls $4

Turn: ($13.25) Q (2 players)
CO checks, Hero checks

River: ($13.25) 10 (2 players)
CO bets $0.50, Hero raises $9, 1 fold

Total pot: $14.25

Results:
Hero didn't show K, 10 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $22.05


Even with 2nd pair and an ace on the board I think we have value here. He's 68/8 with 47% fold to c-bet. That means he hates to fold, which I believe tends to mean he's distrustful. He can easily have a worse T, a gutshot, or even a smaller PP on the flop we can get value from. For a 2nd pair hand, this c-bet is largish. This is a spot I used to think "no value, only better hands call" but thats wrong. Turn sucks since his gutshots either got there or improved to a better pair. River may look like I'm value towning myself, but again his range is so wide I think I can r/f this profitably. Unlikely he'll fold any A or Q here.

Hand 4

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($153.70)
BB ($50)
UTG ($60.05)
Hero (MP) ($57.55)
CO ($66.75)
Button ($74.01)

Preflop: Hero is MP with J, J
1 fold, Hero raises $1.75, CO calls $1.75, 3 folds

Flop: ($4.25) 4, 10, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $3.50, CO calls $3.50

Turn: ($11.25) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $8, CO calls $8

River: ($27.25) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $20, 1 fold

Total pot: $27.25

Results:
Hero didn't show J, J (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $45.90

Another guy who hates to fold, 47/6 with 0% fold to c-bet. Notice flop and turn bets are both on the high side. Question on river is whether to check to let him bluff his busted draws or bet to get value from his pairs. Again a lot of people get worried about the somewhat coordinated board, but his range is so wide here we can let monsters under the bed scare us away from value.


Against people who chase draws its the same thing. If they'll pay a high price to chase a draw, we give them a nice high price.

Hand 5

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP ($69)
Button ($13.15)
SB ($216.31)
BB ($32.85)
Hero (UTG) ($88.65)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, Q
Hero raises $1.75, 1 fold, Button calls $1.75, 1 fold, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($5.50) 4, Q, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4, 1 fold, BB calls $4

Turn: ($13.50) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $9, BB calls $9

River: ($31.50) 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $20, 1 fold

Total pot: $31.50

Results:
Hero didn't show K, Q (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $49.95

Both opponents here hate to fold and love to chase draws, so this is a gin flop imo. We can bet expecting them to pay a good price for their draws and slowdown if the most obvious draw comes in. This is pure value on flop on turn. River is a bit more iffy. A lot of his range is missed draws, so I was probably a bit hopeful trying to get value from worse Qs or TT/JJ type hands. Maybe a better option would be a small bet to get some value from his really weak hands, or one suggestion I've never used is to just min-bet it and give him the opportunity to bluff at weakness (basically the same concept as checking when OOP but we're IP).

Some ideas there anyway.