how to deal with calling stations?

[fkn2pt]

i've been playing pretty well lately at the penny games on stars, been making regular cash. however i think i've been noticing that i manage to make money against the nooby tight players that i can raise with junk cards and steal pots from. when you're playing against these players the cards don't really seem to matter all that much.

lately i've been having trouble dealing with games where there seem to be one or two guys who just will call with pretty much anything.. they're loose as hell and sometimes will call all the way to the river with a pair of 3s. however these guys aren't noobs in the same way because occasionally they have something and will move all in on the river.. and sometimes they have nothing. i have trouble dealing with these guys when my cards are running dry and i can't get a decent starting hand to save my life.. sometimes i'll raise with suited connectors or pockets, or even junk but if you don't hit your flop its risky trying to bet these pots down because they keep calling. these guys don't preflop raise at all, they just call your raise and call you all the way to the river. even if you overbet the pot by a large amount you still can't shake these guys. i actually see loads of these guys making loads of $$

i have a fairly aggressive playing style, i rarely limp preflop with any hand, but i've found that my raises don't get respect with these guys, so i end up gradually drippping money away when i don't hit flops.

is the solution to tighten up and wait for a decent preflop hand or just keep raising into them with weird hands until you flop something hidden and nice? or both? perhaps its better to all in when you hit any kind of flush draw or outside straight draw to give them bad odds for calling?

[dalecooper]

The aggressive style is undermined by loose/passive play. The short answer is, don't bet into a calling station without the goods, whatever those goods may be. Basically you should bet healthy amounts with your top pair or better hands, and appreciate their calls. If they come to life and raise you when you just have a pair, fold the hand and wait for the next good opportunity. Also, unless your hand improves, don't escalate your bets much on the turn and river, and don't bet the river as much unless you're pretty certain you're ahead. You're never chasing them off their hand so any bet is going to be a value bet - and it only has value if you're winning.

[fkn2pt]

is it ever profitable long term to play like this?

[dalecooper]

To play like a calling station? Hard to say. Against the right players, maybe. If you sat at a table with one or two highly LAgg players and just called with decent hands, you'd make a lot of money.