Bet pot

[Absolution]

At low level SnGs this seems to be the favorite button of every player - Bet Pot. It's almost automatic. If someone is going to bet they usually head for this button. I'm not sure if they do this because everybody else does it, because it's the easiest way to push someone off a pot if they are on a draw or because it's an easy way not to give away anything just like making a standard raise preflop regardless of hand (it's probably a little bit of all three). Any bet smaller than pot looks suspicious, even if it is still sufficient to give them bad odds. I think I even read in the low limit SnG guide here that you should usually reraise if someone bets half the pot. As a consequence, it seems to be the only bet that gets any respect. Of course, I use this to my advantage if I can. I noticed that at higher levels this isn't usually the case. They will often put out 1/3 or 2/3 bets and often get away with more feeler bets. I suppose that better players are more likely to fold and are more likely to accept that they might get bluffed every now and then.

I know this is a complicated area, but what do you base your post flop bets on at different levels?

On a somewhat related note, what is with 3xBB being the standard preflop raise? Is there a mathematical basis for this (if someone calls they are getting about 1:1.5 if not in the blinds).