For those of you that find this confusing at first, just start off w/ this advice. When you are strong, bet and build the pot. When you are weak, bet less and keep the pot smaller. Then, if someone tries to buy you out of a pot, check out your pot odds and compare that to the strength of your hand and call when appropriate.

This is good starting advice, but it isn't all you need to be a good player. However, once you have this down, you will begin to see the nuances and specifics of situations that will require you to change it up. For example, if you are pretty weak, but you have a read that the guy is chasing, make him pay to chase and bet big!