[Redd]

This is a good example for a conceptual question I've been meaning to ask:

In these situations (middle pair with showdown value versus an opponent who's usually either crushing us or has 6 outs), there's competing desires to
1) get to showdown cheaply, and
2) also avoid giving cheap cards to an opponent with many possible outs.

Generally, if I can be more sure I'm ahead I usually raise/check-raise the flop here. If I'm more sure I'm beat, I give up the cheap cards and call down.

But at what point does our hand become strong enough to protect? How much equity do we need to raise here? Given that the pot size is pretty similar in all the situations, it seems like there's probably a pretty solid number we need before we should think about protecting our hand.