[MxGucci]

I personally have had this happen to me numerous times, and I was so caught up in playing "solid poker" that I would keep on doing what the "books / pros" say you should do, which is be AGGRESSIVE.

Honestly, I have found with trial and error, aggression gets you so far, if you find that your opponent does not back down with Ace high, or even a bottom pair, you are not going to win the battle by being aggressive.

Here you will have to just adjust to your opponent, slow the pace of the game, and make a lot of small bets and a lot of value bets.

You will have to risk getting outdrawn on, thus you should try to keep the pot small, but on the river if you notice he has missed his straight draw or flush draw, then go ahead and overbet. These calling stations always have the mentality of "he is full of it", and they will most likely call. Lets say they fold, and then you start telling yourself "I am such an idiot, why would I shove there, I could have value bet and taken a nice chunk", this is true but now you have such a powerful tool under your belt, he is now shaken and will most likely be doubting his fold, so the next few times you overbet on the river (with the best hand), he might crack and call. Or it just really makes him lose focus and he'll start making stupid raises, and he now is your pet.

In conclusion, don't shy away from playing small ball poker, if your opponent is the type who will allow pots to be checked around, and limped in; this is good news for you. If you are a good reader of hands and situations, you will crush these opponents 7/10. Remember though, everyone wins, so this type of player beats you, do not let it tilt you, it really annoys and you have all the right in the world to be upset, just take it as a normal loss and move on.

I wish POKERSTARS had a "REMATCH" button after the HU SNG ended. Dont you all?

-- MxGucci