Part: Part Five - Betting Before the Flop

Four-betting the aces

Pre-flop
Blinds 100 / 200Pot 2,600 (13 BB)COA♠A♣● 20,000 (100 BB)YOUyou opened to 500BTN● 20,000 (100 BB)3-bettor3-bets 1,800 (9 BB)SB● 20,000 (100 BB)posts 100 (0.5 BB)BB● 20,000 (100 BB)posts 200 (1 BB)D

You open to 500 from the cutoff with A♠A♣. A fairly aggressive button three-bets to 1,800.

You open pocket aces and the button three-bets to 1,800 (9 BB). Best?

WhyFour-bet for value. Aces want money in the pot now - flatting lets the pot stay small and lets overcards or sets crack you cheaply. Four-betting builds the pot while you hold the best possible hand and charges his three-betting range.
What happensYou four-bet to 4,400 (22 BB). He shoves all-in.
Decision
Heads-upPot 17,000 (85 BB)COA♠A♣● 20,000 (100 BB)YOUpocket acesBTN● 20,000 (100 BB)3-bettorall-in 18,000 (90 BB)D

He jams all-in over your four-bet.

Facing an all-in with pocket aces. Best?

WhyCall. You hold the best starting hand in poker; there is no fold. Against his entire shoving range - kings, queens, ace-king, the occasional bluff - aces are a huge favorite. This is the payoff for four-betting them for value.
What happensYou call; he shows K-K and you win a massive pot.  Aces stack the kings.
You four-bet aces for value rather than slow-playing them, and when he shoved you snapped it off as a giant favorite. Big pairs make money by getting the chips in while they're ahead, not by being cute.

Don't slow-play aces or kings against aggression - four-bet for value and get the money in while you hold the best hand.