If you are sitting looking at the very best starting hand in hold em, you're probably going to be pretty excited and you'll be wondering how to get the most value out of your hand.  You may be inclined to limp in with this hand but that would be a very bad idea. Ace ace is a the monster hand but it's not foolproof.  Limping into the pot in the hope that as many other players will enter is not the way to go.  If you are sitting at a table of nine and a good number of these players enter the game, there's a good chance your monster hand with be beaten by two pair or trips even if a straight or flush doesn't present itself.

Ace ace is a hard hand in hold em to let go of.

 Here you want to minimise the danger by betting big preflop.  The good thing about pocket aces is you're probably not going to worry too much about position as you'll be betting aggressively anyway.
So many people come out with bad beat stories involving aces getting beat by two small pairs yet they never seem to realise it was their bad play that led them to problems.
How big you make your bet pre-flop will be decided by the feel of the table. Only through observation will you be able to make this call.  You want to narrow the field to one, two or at most three other players.  If you've read our page on odds of winning with pocket pairs, then you'll know the percentage odds for winning with pocket aces and can play to your comfort level.
Remember also that if you bet too high with pocket aces and everyone folds then stealing the blinds is also a win.  You may not have the big win you were hoping for but there's plenty more hands to play and you'll get pocket rockets again.
When the flop comes down and you are facing a couple of other opponents then play hard according to the cards but be ready to fold if  a possible flush or straight comes up.  
If a pair and another  card come up on the flop with the possibility of your opponent drawing to a straight say, and your opponent bets, then be prepared to raise.  You have to get a feel on whether he's got trips, two pair or a single ace.  In two of those scenarios you've got him beat  and the chances are against him having trips, but you need to raise to get a feel on where he's at.
If the third card is a King or Queen, there's no chance of a straight or flush, then this is a different scenario. You want your opponent to feel he has the best hand with his pair of kings, so even in late position you should check.  This way can reel him in to bigger mistakes on the turn and river and in the unlikely event that he does have trips, then you may get away more lightly than you would have with a re-raise.

'Cowboys' or pocket Kings are the second best hand in hold em.  In many ways you would play this the same as ace ace.  Raise the betting pre flop to narrow the players.  Remember that if you are up against 8 other opponents with a pair of kings there's an 80% chance that at least one person will have an ace and an almost 20% chance that an ace will come up on the flop. There's nothing worse that losing your two kings to an Ace rag unsuited.
 Now there's nothing you can do about the last statistic but you can narrow the field with a pre-flop raise.  If you are faced with a flop containing an ace, then play very cautiously especially from an early position. From a late position, where there's no takers, then bet as you may just steal the pot, but withdraw if you are raised.

The dangers you face with king king are doubled with a pair of queens, but they are still a pretty strong hand if you play them right.  You still need to raise the blinds from any position pre flop but play as cautiously as possible if the flop comes up with ace or king.  If anyone else makes a solid bet in this position, then fold.  However if Ace and King are absent from the flop, then play exactly as you would with the higher pair

In many ways, Ace King is a better hold em hand than ace ace or king king.  
Why?
A pair of aces or a pair of kings is what we call a made hand. Ace King is a drawing hand.  If you played Ace King against a pair of kings or a pair of aces, theres no doubt that the pair would win.  The reason Ace King can be a better hand, is you become less attached to it. With ace ace, you already have highest pair before any board cards are dealt. This is a hard hand to let go.  With Ace King, you are still looking to make a pair to win.  You'll be less attached to an Ace King that a pair of aces.  
You have more options that with a pair.  If your ace king is suited, there's the chance of holding the highest cards in a flush.  You can make two pair with less worry of someone holding trips.
You can afford to have a few more players see the flop with ace king as you have more options than with a made hand.  With more players you can make more chips and as its a drawing hand  and therefore easier to walk away from, you'll won't lose so many chips either.
So with this in mind - how do we play Ace King?  
Raise pre-flop just enough to narrow the field but not so much that you scare the majority of players off.  
When if comes to the flop and you don't make a match - you have two options.

• If someone else made the pre-flop raise and you called, then check if they check, fold if they raise.
• If you made the pre flop raise then bet again as if the flop has done you some favours. You may steal the pot but if you don't, then you have more options available than if you started out with a made hand. Call if someone before you makes a raise, unless its a huge raise in which case fold.

If you have a re-raise then you can fold.  If you were faced with this situation and you already had an ace ace, it would be much harder to let go of your hand.

Ace King is also a strong enough hand that if you want to and you know your opponents, you can bet as if you had ace ace or king king.  How is this done?

• Make a pre-flop re raise to see who calls. 
• If your re-raise is raised again or someone goes all in, then back off.
• If the flop doesn't help but also doesn't show  the possibility of a flush  then bet big again. This combined with your pre-flop re-raise will trick your opponents into thinking you had the top pocket pair.

NB:  Don't try this with online freerolls and very low  stakes online games. Too many people will call your bluff.

Ok so there's lots more starting hands in hold em to consider. So why don't you take a look at the hold em hand odds for pocket pairs
Of if your brain can't handle any more hold em strategy why don't you click on one of the buttons on the top RHS and start playing in a poker room.