[RedDawg]

I am an intermediate limit player with 2+ years experience.
I play about 90/10 online vs. B&M. When I do play live, I go to a local card room that has loose games where I generally do fairly well. They run a promotion in the 3/6 and 4/8 games that pays $100 to anyone who gets their aces cracked. I am uncertain how to best take advantage of this and I'd like some input. I have always felt that it was correct to limp (w/ AA) pre-flop from any position to encourage the maximum number of callers thus increasing my chances of losing the hand in favor of the $100 bonus, this also serves (appropriately, I thought) to ultimately reach a showdown as cheaply as possible thus getting the most out of my losing aces. Typically after the flop I re-evaluate my situation and if I'm a heavy favorite to win the hand I will switch gears and try to build the pot.

I have a friend who disagrees with this approach. He prefers to raise pre-flop if there are several limpers already in. His argument is that players in these loose games rarely fold to a raise and, in fact, many will cold call two bets. He feels that the pot equity of the aces more than justifies trying to build the pot. He claims that this play gains much more when the aces hold up than it loses (by cutting into the winnings) when the aces are cracked. I think he makes some good points. He may well be correct. I'd just like to know if there's anyone who's carefully examined the math on situations like this. I'd like to play the game armed with the optimal strategy for the AA opportunities.

I hope I've explained the situation clearly. I apologize if my post is a little wordy. I've always enjoyed reading the comments here, but this is the first time I've posted myself.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can set me straight.