[nate1729]

Thanks for the reply. I can see a strong argument for each of folding, calling, and raising. I was hesitant to raise for fear that I might get bets in while I was behind (to a big buried pair), while not driving out quality draws, all without good prospects of improvement. Meanwhile, the Q seems to be crippled, and who knows about the 5, and there's no law that says I'm behind to the 2, so should I really throw away my big concealed pair? If I recall 7CSFAP correctly, Sklansky says that AA is the only pair (almost) always to be played even if both the trip cards are dead, and that others should be played with caution if at all. I decided to file this one under "caution."

Oh, and one other thing I thought about: of all the possibilities for the Mysterious Reraising Deuce, big spades in the hole was something I gave a good deal of weight to, because spades were quite live; I thought perhaps he was a tricky player raising on the value of his live spades and big cards; after all, he was looking at two fives and a non-live queen against him. (I never did find out what he had.)

Thanks again.