Aggressive players can be annoying. I know when a flop hits 3 7 9 and the initial raiser bets heavy, that they most likely missed but have a high card. Even if I make bottom pair, can calling be effective at steering them off when the turn misses for them?
A couple of adjustments you can make to combat aggressive players
#1 Slowplay more hands (especially your monsters)
Aggressive players love to bet when you show weakness, and they often bet BIG. By slowplaying your monsters and playing them the same as your 'give ups' you can extract a ton of value from the aggressive players bluffs. Just don't be afraid to slowplay all the way to the end, that's where the biggest
bluff money is made!
#2 Turn your marginal hands with blockers into bluffs
It's exactly what you said. When you have a pair on the board that greatly decreases the chances your opponent has a set. They may often go for thin value with a top pair or be wild with their bluffs and when you raise them back it will be quite hard for them to call.
Since they are betting too often, they will have to fold to counter aggression, and any blocker you have that will decrease the % of the time you get called is a great candidate to do it with.
Just know that your entering high variance territory when you take this approach and that sometimes aggressive players wake up with strong hands too! It won't work everytime, but if you're being selective and raising mostly in spots where your opponent is going to be double/triple barreling a lot as a bluff you'll likely see them folding to your re-bluff more often than is required to breakeven.
Here's a great example of Charlie Carrel making such a play at the highest stakes out there!
Thanks for posting a great question!