pot sizing

[fourgapper]

Playing a small or large pot seems to be critical to PL/NL success -- are there any guidelines on when a pot should be played large or small?

My intuition is that with a draw out of position one should try and keep the pot small, especially against many opponenets. With a made hand that's easily cracked, it would seem that one would prefer to make the pot large asap to get people out.

(Cetainly PL vs. NL differs somewhat, since it's important to build the pot for a strong drawing hand, but there must be some gross general principles that apply to both games.)

Examples of when to keep the pot small, or when to try to grow it, would be much appreciated.

4gapper