Quote Originally Posted by xbones
You only want to take down blinds with AA? I'm willing to risk a bit more than that, and I want callers. If you don't want to see a flop with aces, what hand do you want to see a flop with.
Just blinds, no. I don't think I'm being clear enough (apparently). I have limped AA before with only one other person in just so I CAN see a flop against one other person. Usually if I am trying to steal it's not the blinds - it's the blinds plus a few limpers, or even better. For example here's a hand that came up just this morning: I get AA. The blinds are in and two people limp at .50 each. Then one guy raises to $1.00 and one more calls, so the pot is now 3.75. I raise it to $3.50 and everyone folds. My reasoning is that about half the time everyone will fold and I'll take a decent pot (approx. 8X BB) right there; the other half the time I'll get one caller and go to heads up play, at which point my next aim is to get him to fold on the flop, by betting whatever it takes, but ideally after he bets something (so I get some money out of him). Unless I get lucky and hit trip aces or something, in which case I might play it a little slower.

The size of the raise is not just determined by the aces. It's also determined by the size of the pot, the number of people in, the bets before me, and my position. If they all fold it doesn't bother me. But if I get one caller, that's better. That's what I'm after with kings or aces, pretty much every time I am dealt them, and I make the raise with that in mind.