Pocket aces

What is the best way to play poker aces preflop?

My opinion is to 5 bet it....

It's best to play your bet size so you don't show the strength of your hand if you've always played less with other cards before

Many times I wait for players who always raise the afloat preflop to continue with that game pattern and thus try to remove as many chips as possible and in case they do not raise the bet I raise it a little so that they end up paying and not withdraw

It depends on the position at the table and the number of opponents

My standard opening pre-flop raise is 3xbb + 1xbb for each limper in the pot ahead of me, up to 5x. Some people say they raise to start building a potentially big pot. I, on the other hand, raise to try to limit the number of players in the pot. The more players in the pot, the higher the possibility and probability that someone will hit bingo with an inferior starting hand. I raise to try to keep those bingo players out of the hand.

That is my standard play. With pocket aces, I make my standard raise of 3x + 1x for each limper, so as not to telegraph the strength of my hand. Like with any other hand, I want to limit the number players involved in the hand to reduce the chances of someone getting lucky on me. The odds of pocket aces holding up starts to drop considerably with each additional player that comes into the pot. The key is to try to limit the number of players in the pot, but not to chase everyone out of the hand, which is why just open shoving is probably not the best idea, unless you often play other hands that way. If the pot is raised in front of me, then I am going to 3-bet. If I raise and someone 3-bets, then I'm going to 4-bet. I am basically going to keep re-raising until I feel that my opponent is not folding, or I feel that the pot is big enough that I will be satisfied taking it down at that point. That is the point at which I will go all-in.

Tournament? Cash game? SnG?
Stack size? Position?

My only advice is not to get tricky and not to marry them. Usually I will play them preflop as I would any hand I want to open. If I have been 3X opening, that is what I would do. Post flop, it depends on how many players are still in and the texture of the board, but I usually continuation bet.

If you are uncomfortable playing rockets post flop, maybe you should just go all in pre flop. You will likely win the blinds, and have a chance of doubling up.

The best hand without a doubt, but it all depends on the moment of the game, sometimes you expect the cards and if you want insurance almost all in without a doubt.

Yes 5 bet to limit the number of players and see what the flop brings. AA is not a sure thing.

Your question is lacking in so much context that it makes it impossible to answer. Poker is such a situational game that much more information is needed to adequately answer your question. There is no single best way to play AA preflop at all times...period.

How I play the Aces also depends on the situation.
I have to raise (varying from 2 to 5 BB) but it also happens that I limp.

In this case, check-raise and check call can also come into play, I also do this at random to be really unrecognizable.:icon_shak:icon_colo

And sometimes when I play super aggressively, I also choose to check-raise all-in.

That is very true. It does depend on table seating and other factors to consider.

Play them exactly the same as any other hand you raise if you go from raising 2.5x to suddenly raising 5x your telling everyone you have a big hand. Stick to your default raise size.a lot also depends on position and other opponents

It largely depends on what table you play and what kind of game it is. Some also limp, which is not very correct.

You should always be aggressive with them. If you are in EP and raise and get multiple callers, be prepared to check/fold them on a coordinated flop. When you are OOP and try to play them post flop, you could lose a lot off money on a flop that connects with your callers. In CO/Button or blinds I would 3/4 bet to isolate to 1 opponent.

It depends of a lot of factors like how many players, what info you have from them, how much chips you have, how was the action before etc...

redmast said:

It largely depends on what table you play and what kind of game it is. Some also limp, which is not very correct.

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True. Sometimes I've limped in with pocket Aces at loose tables with the goal of trapping (and it pays off this way a lot too), but this is purely situational and I am usually raising with AA (or any premium hand for that matter). The default here should always be raising: we have a strong hand and we want value by building the pot. Another point to raising versus limping in here (others have noted too) is that we deny equity to some hands that may outdraw our AA. If we want them to challenge us with literally the best possible preflop starting hand, then we want to make sure we make them pay for it and aren't allowed to see every flop with trash hands or worse: unmade hands with potential.