Texas Hold'em: Exploring Pocket Aces

Question
Hi there, please answer a question for me as I've heard people answer it both ways. Do pocket aces play better in situations when there are more people in the pot, or fewer people in the pot?

Answer
The ideal spot for pocket aces is a ten way pot that's capped pre-flop. You'll hear many people say that pocket aces ‘like a short pot'. These people are confused. What you want is as many people as possible paying as much as possible pre-flop; which, of course, is why you raise.

That having been said, taking aces against two opponents who've each paid two bets to see the flop is preferable to taking aces up against four opponents who've each paid one bet. It's something of a balancing act. If you ‘knew' that everyone would fold if you raised then you would want to limp with them every time. However, since you can't ever know that (and, in fact, can often be fairly certain that you'll get some callers) you want to get as much of their money in the middle as possible since you have such enormous pot equity.

Consider: If between 30-90% of every dollar that goes in the middle is ‘yours' (and this is the case with aces—the exact number depends on how many callers take the flop with you) why on Earth wouldn't you want as much of that money in the pot as possible? True, with more money comes more callers—and, by extension, a greater chance that your hand will be snapped. But those are the breaks; in any case you stand to make more as an increasing number of players pay the max to continue on with their hands.

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