[aliensyndm]

Yeah as usual there is no short answer really. It's worth remembering that pre-flop is when you are the most ahead with AA. Ideally you'd get all the chips/money in pre-flop every time but obviously it's not quite as simple as that. With AA you are gonna be more than 75% favourite against any other hand, that's realistically about as far ahead as you are gonna get your chips in under most circumstances. If you are managing to get all your chips in pre-flop and are getting outdrawn alot then don't think you are doing something wrong, it is just bad luck. But having said that there are differences with tournament and cash play. I mean say you are playing a cash game and four people go all in pre-flop, it comes round to you and you have AA. Four people have gone all in before you so do you call ? Of course you call, you cannot be behind. Now the thing here is with 4 other people in the pot you are not favourite to win the pot. You are likely to be around a 40% chance to win the pot(unless someone else has AA). But it's a 40% chance at 4-1 for your cash hence mathematically it's a positive expectation play by a mile hence you call in an instant. In a tournament if the blinds were at their minimum level you could make a case for folding there. Sure you are 40%ish to get 4-1 for your chips but there is 60ish% chance you will be getting knocked out.
Even if you win the pot you are not guranteed to win the tournament or even get a prize whereas in the cash game if you win the pot you get 4-1 for your cash.
You could be better off waiting for another chance getting your chips in way ahead, in a pot with less people where you are a much bigger favourite to win the pot and not risk getting knocked out the tournament.
Now if that same scenario arises where the blinds are much bigger in relation to stack size etc then it could be a different story.

In a single table tournie if I pick up AA very early on I will often go all in with it even if the blinds are at the minimum. You'll often get calls from people who think AK is a great hand or if someone has picked up a decent sized pocket pair like JJ or QQ and is unable to throw it. It's also amusing that if someone actually does call you they are likely to have a hand which is going to be even more behind than a limping hand.
Example -

AcAs v KdKh = 81.3% v 18.7%
AcAs v AhKh = 87.9% v 12.1%
AcAs v AhKs = 93.5% v 6.5%
AcAs v 7h8h = 77.0% v 23.0%

Notice the suited connectors 78 actually have the best chance against the AA. Also notice how bad AK is against AA and that's the exact hand alot of people will call it with so that's great.


Pre-flop is when you are ahead so that's when you want to get the chips/money in if you can. Don't get too attached to AA though.
When boards come down like 789 with 2 suited or all suited you are in all sorts of trouble. If someone hasn't already got you beaten they will have a huge draw to do so. Play it aggressively, when you get a board like K72 rainbow you have to bet it aggressively, that's about as good a board as you are gonna get for AA other than flopping an ace etc. People with KQ, AK etc will call your bets down with those boards and that's how you make profit on it. As Dave says though don't play it exactly the same everytime, because then it becomes too obvious what you have and people will notice this.
Sometimes I will flat call with AA or KK say. Sometimes it works out a treat as alot of preflop raising happens and you can then plonk all in, especially nice in cash games that. But should no raising happen and everyone limps don't be afraid to throw your hand in if it looks beat. A few times I have limped with KK and flopped a K......the strength of my hand is then immense as not many people will put you on KK there as normally you hear about KK preflop. But then again I've limped with KK and and ace has flopped, immediately your hand is pants and you must bin it upon any bet really. Annoying but the way it goes. Similar story with AA if you have limped and the flop has come awful like 910J all suited with none of your suit etc.

As usual position in hold 'em position always helps. If you have position and have raised and the flop comes people often check to a raiser or stick in a small bet to "find out where they are", they are as well checking but anyway. With position if the board has come scary you can always check and take the free card. When raising UTG or close to it pre-flop the nice thing about AA is you don't have to worry about a re-raise. If someone re-raised and then alot of people call you can go all in. If they fold fine, you pick up alot of calls uncontested. If someone calls you got your chips in miles ahead so it's all good. It's when you end up in a multi-way pot from bad position that it is harder to play as there will be many ways for your AA to lose if it isn't already losing on the flop.

Ok to sum up, it's pre-flop you are ahead - get the chips/money in pre-flop if you can.
Don't be afraid to bin your hand if the board is scary, AA is the best preflop hand, not necessarily the best hand after the flop/turn/river
When you think your AA is still good play it aggressively and make people pay to draw to flushes/straights or people you think have second best hands.(KQ on a K72 flop etc)

Don't get disheartened if you keep ending up all in preflop heads up and lose. You are the most ahead then and are doing something right. AA is the best hand preflop and it will stand up eventually. Most poker players have some tale of a ridiculous way that their AA was beaten. People always remember this cos AA is the best hand, when AA actually wins the pot noone pays any attention or remembers cos it's expected.