[elmitchbo]

i'm not an expert either, but i will draw on advice from THE expert barry greenstein. he discusses this in his book, and i've heard him discuss it in interviews.

as you said, you're probably way ahead or way behind. in that case the correct play is either raising or folding, and calling in either situation would be incorrect.

barry g. says that often times inexperienced players, when faced with these way ahead/way behind situations, will call as a compromise between the two. it is in fact much better to choose one of the options that can be potentially correct, rather than choosing the option that is almost certainly incorrect.

in addition to that we know that aggression is almost always a good thing. so bet at it! that is very likely to be the right play anyway, and even if you are behind the bet gives you some chance to take the pot away.