Pocket Rockets, Bullets, American Airlines, no matter what you call them a pair of Aces by any other name is still the best starting hand you can have. If this were two-card showdown, you would be a winner every time. But this is Hold'em and you still have a ways to go before you rake in the chips. With Aces, your hand will hold up against one or two players most of the time but will win about 35 percent of the time with five or more players in the pot. Getting your pair of Aces beaten is known as getting your Aces "cracked." It happens and is a fact of the game. Because of this, you want to thin the field if possible but you also want to get as much money in the pot for the times that your hand does win.

It's okay to raise from any position with Aces. When you raise from early position you will have a good shot at thinning the field. Players with marginal drawing hands will probably fold. But there are some considerations on how to maximize the money in the pot without giving your opponents the proper odds to draw out on you. Most players will not fold their hand to a raise once they have entered the pot. In middle position you want to raise to drive out any of the players acting after you who might hold marginal hands while getting more money from those already in the pot. If the pot has already been raised when it gets to you, go ahead and reraise. It's okay to cap the betting if you get re-raised again. Most of the time you will raise with Aces, but sometimes you may want to mix up your style of play.

In late position, if most of the players have entered the pot, you may want to just call when you are in the blinds with a pair of Aces. When you raise from the blind you are letting everyone know that you have a strong hand. Sometimes, you may be better off using a little deception. By not raising you can see the flop and, either bet if the field is large or try for a check raise if you are heads ups with a single aggressive player. You do not want to slow play a pair of aces that gets no help on the flop against a large number of players.

After the flop you must look at the board carefully. If the flop brings all little cards, your Aces may still be the best hand. If there has been a lot of action before the flop and the flop brings a King or two or more face cards, you might have a problem. If one of your opponents was raising with a pair of Kings they now have a set. If they were holding two face cards they could have flopped two pairs. If you bet and are raised, you will have to proceed with caution.

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