Limpin - the important thing to remember is that like most things in poker, this is very situational. Like I said I would frequently check a set if I were first to act, heads up on the flop, against a TAgg player who had raised pre-flop and who I knew was likely to c-bet but unlikely to raise me on a bluff. That's a very specific situation and a pretty specific read, but this comes up quite a bit, especially when you play short-handed or heads-up games. Into larger fields, or if I was the one that raised pre-flop, or in position, I'm betting a set basically every time. The only question then is how much to bet. That is usually determined by the caliber of the other players in the hand, and what the board looks like.

Bode-ist - don't ever let fear of losing a pot drive your actions in poker. Your main goal in poker is to make your opponent make mistakes, the bigger the better. And the most common mistake is calling a bet when they aren't getting the odds (pot odds, implied odds, or otherwise) to win the hand. Slowplaying one street and then overbetting another to "protect your hand" is classic bad poker. My ideal situation every time I hit a set would be to bet 3/4 pot on the flop and turn and have someone calling all the way down with flush draw, straight draw, or overpair. More power to them if they want to chase. Then you just need to be smart enough to get a cheap showdown or fold when they suck out.