Betting Marginal Hands...Help Please (mostly PL, NL)

[Rianna]

Most players understand the concept of 'protecting a hand', i.e., you flop a set and want to give the caller(s) less than 3-1 giving them the _Wrong_ price to call ( this is a typical example )...

With a "playable hand like KJ (around back) for example, when you bet it, should you bet the KJ hand as though it's AK?....OR bet LESS as to not get "So Committed" so, I guess, you can get away from the hand having "lost less"( if raised) OR protect it against draws?

I usually know what price to GET, but with a "marginal" hand I have a problem in "what Price to Give" in that my hand may not be the Best hand when I bet it ( another example might be Hero = J10, flop J 2 5...take the lead or give a free card. How MUCH to take the lead WITH ??...Bet, redefine the hand and check the turn??

I hope someone will please dive in here, all comments welcome.

Thank you.