Check, Bet, or Raise with Trips (Paired Doorcard) on 4th

[Lin Sherman]

It really depends on how good your opponents are and whether you have been mixing up your game all along. Pot odds also matter.

Against the overwhelming majority of low-limit players, you might as well make the double bet. Very few of them are going to call or fold based on the size of the bet; if they are willing to call the single bet, they will usually call the double bet also. LL players rarely pay attention to pot size or odds; they are thinking about whether or not they can beat you, and if they think they can, they will usually hang around.

Another point about low-limit players is that even when they know you have trips, they will often call incorrectly anyway. I've seen this tendency in games as high as 20-40. Many players just don't know the odds against them when they take on probable trips. Bad stud players are eternal optimists.

Against better players, deception is essential, but it has to be part of total package. If you always raise on 3rd with split kings, but not when you have a small pair or 3-flush behind your king, then trickery when you make an open pair is pointless. You have to sometimes just call on 3rd with split kings, sometimes raise with the weaker hands.

Finally there's the matter of pot odds. If the pot is on the large size, a single bet may give an opponent with a strong draw correct odds to call. You want opponents to call when they are NOT getting the right odds. So if the pot is already sizeable, then you should make the double bet regarldess of any other factors, even if this will win the pot outright.

Lin