harringtons tourny book is actually a pretty good guide for betting in NL ring, so that's not a bad place to start. i'm cribbing from his ideas, pretty much.

there's no hard and fast rule on how much to bet, just factors. some to consider:

1) who's been leading the betting until this point? for instance, a large flop bet from someone who called a raise PF is a lot more intimidating than a regular followup raiser.

2) what's the look of the flop? harrington calls this texture; basically it's the likely impact of the flop on your opponents. for example, if you hold 66 and the flop comes A J 6, you can probably bet more b/c of the chance your opponents are holding something. on a board like J 6 2 with your 66, a big bet won't work as often.

3) your image. what have your bet sizes been in the past and what do they mean to your opponents? think about what cards you've shown after what type of bets.

4) your opponents. some players will interpret any small bet as weakness and raise you. some players interpret all large bets as bluffs. some opponents cannot let go of a draw. pay attention to how opponents interpret your bets and their stock reactions.

5) the amount of chips you have relative to the pot.

6) pot odds, of course.

7) a random factor, especially in live play, so you don't become too predictable.

some scenarios with specific info would probably elicit clearer responses from me.

maxpot

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