[Sam T.]

In general I come from the "better safe than sorry" school of poker. Unless I'm sitting on a monster, I perfer to take down the pot sooner rather than later.

In your situation, I'd bet the pot on the flop. Aces are nice, but they're still only one pair. Your small bet encourages a call, especially from someone on a draw or who has caught a small piece of the flop.

Look at it from his perspective: "Big raise pre-flop. He's got big cards or a pair. I'm playing for set value. Hmm, a weak bet. Looks like overcards, and the flop missed him. I'm ahead here. But I'm kinda weak, so I'll just call. Now a push. Looks like a desperation bet from AKo trying to salvage the hand. Well, I've got a flush draw, and I think I'm ahead. Call."

If you want to go for the check-raise, great, but I don't like the min-bet.