I bet/raise to get action. People think I'll put money in the pot on any two...and I will at times. The key is for them to guess when I have a hand and when I don't. Also I don't like making hard decisions, so I frequently bet to see if anyone is willing to fight for the pot and raise to see if I'm being bluffed. It could be a leak, BUT if your looser table image allows you to get paid off more then I think it more than balances out when you start playing for stacks with your set vs TPTK because Mr. Table-Cop is tired of folding to your raises.

Really, it IS about knowing where you are in a hand. True, people slow play monsters all the time, but you're not value betting your 2nd pair...you're trying to take the pot down or get out. If you get played back at, at least at the stakes I'm playing at, you go for the cheap showdown or lay it down. If you are investing any more after that without a REALLY SOLID read, you're leaking chips.

I think I'm rambling now.