|
It's a short-term vs. long-term thing. I actually was playing against a kind of station at $15/$30 live limit last night, though this was a slightly different type of station than you get at micro-limits.
Basically, in mid-to-high limit live poker, there's a fair amount of aggression, especially in position. People may very well open from the cutoff with J6 offsuit, for instance. And then the blinds will play back at the player (because they know he's willing to raise J6 offsuit!). So the big blind might call or re-raise with 74 offsuit, for instance.
So now J6 and 74 see the flop. And the flop comes AQ2 rainbow. J6 fires off a continuation bet, 74 calls. Turn comes 8. J6, still representing the ace, 74 calls. River comes K. At this point, J6 might bet or check, and 74 might check, bet, raise, or fold.
The thing is, what 74 has resolved himself to do there is not be bluffed by players raising trash or c-betting with air. And to do that, he basically plays as a calling station post-flop in raised pots.
In any event, I was playing against one of these guys last night, and the reality is, what a station does is make it impossible or unlikely to take down a lot of pots with pure aggression. You basically have to wait until you have a hand and then value bet. And thus, what frustrates players in the short term is that (1) their fancy poker techniques don't work and they have to go back to being patient and tight and waiting for a good hand, and (2) if you go card dead, the calling station will almost assuredly win money from you.
But you have to think long term.
Eventually, last night, after 2 hours of total card death, I had 6c4c in the SB and was able to see the flop which came 642, with another 6 on the turn to give me my boat. This guy paid me off royally.
But sometimes, that hand will never come. And you just have to remember that it's long run +EV to play against calling stations, even if you have a bad run against them.
|