Following the flop, the typical initial bet is two-thirds of the pot size (the total that has already been bet). So, if the pot is $9, you should stake about $6. You should aim for two and a half times the previous player's wager if you wish to re-raise. So, if they wager $6, you should increase the bet to $15. If they call, there is no point in raising further; if they don't want to play that hand, that is their decision. The general rule with re-raises is this: if you have nothing better to do than to torture other people who are playing fair poker, then by all means, keep on re-raising. However, unless you have a very strong hand, it is not recommended because it gives the opponent(s) more of an opportunity to put you under pressure by calling your raises. In most cases, it is better to make another good hand instead. The most common way for novices to lose money at poker is by making bad decisions after they get involved in big pots. For example, if the blinds are $10/$20 and there is a $60 pot, most people will simply call the $100 bet and hope for the best. This is a bad idea because if someone has a flush, they will almost certainly want to push all-in before the flop so they have the best chance of winning the hand.