Counting pot size by bet in B&M games- Pro Advice Requested

[511 Peas]

Happy Friday, all.

OK, so after coming to depend on the crutch that is a digital readout of the pot size on Absolute and Bodog for the past couple years, I went down to the old Native American Casino to play some 4/8 limit with my favourite octogenarians and fishies.

What's the best (or default/standard, if applicable) way to count pots by bets in a live game?

Is it

A. Don't count bets as they happen pre-flop- just count the number of players and then figure-in any/all pf raises and which blinds are playing? Then count the action as it occurs.

B. Start out at 1.5 (the blinds) and then just add bets as the action dictates?

C. Just pay attention to the actions of others, and estimate (or count roughly) the pot size when a close or critcal decision presents itself?

D. None of the above, and I'm a stupid, stupid, noob regarding live play /images/graemlins/wink.gif

I found myself trying different methods, but oft found that while my pot count was right-on, I was allowing myself to become ignorant of other critcal analytical thoughts while playing my game, such as watching others and thinking as deeply as possible about the implications of my sepecific holdings and the board.

Is there a standard line for how it's done? How would Sklansky do it?

Thanks in advance to all for their respective time in reading and responding to my post.

[gobbledygeek]

Because I count the bets as they happen post-flop, I usually find myself counting the bets as they happen preflop; but then I just usually end up multiplying the number of bets by number of people minus any call-folders anyways, so whatever. I ignore incompleted small blinds plus I round down when dividing the number of small bets by two to figure out the number of big bets on the turn; I figure this is probably good enough to take into account rake/badbeat (especially when considering that my counting of outs and factoring in implied bets is an estimate anyways).

GcluelessnoobG

[Clover362]

I find that its best to count the pot toward the end of your analysis before you act. It more important to think about the action and your oponent then the actual amount in the pot. I come up with my read then count the pot to determine the best play. At that point its pretty easy to just count the number of people and maltiply by the action.

[ChuckyB]

I like Dew Mason's system that he shows in "Holdem on the Come"

He counts in small bets.
PF bets count as what they are.
Each player's first flop bets count as +4. The rest are +1.
Turn bets count as 1, as do raises. Turn folds are -3.

It's estimating the size of the final pot, letting you know if you have odds to draw.

Example: 6 players in for 3 bets PF -- 18SB
FLOP: 5 players in for a raise, one fold -- estimate: 43SB (actual: 28)
TURN: 3 players in for a bet, 2 folds -- estimate: 40SB (actual: 34)
RIVER: 2 players for a bet (actual: 38; 37 for rake)

[gobbledygeek]

[ QUOTE ]
I find that its best to count the pot toward the end of your analysis before you act. It more important to think about the action and your oponent then the actual amount in the pot. I come up with my read then count the pot to determine the best play. At that point its pretty easy to just count the number of people and maltiply by the action.

[/ QUOTE ]

Really? I find I first base most of my decisions at B&M 2/4 on the pot size vs odds of making my hand so knowing the number of bets in the pot is key; then and only then would I factor in the opponent and action. Plus I think it would be quite easy to lose grasp of the number of bets in the pot if it wasn't being tracked per bet (considering the number of players who see typically see the flop, bet, fold, raise, etc. in a normal B&M 2/4 game). I think I'm still at the clueless noob stage.

[earlytimes1]

PF, I usually count once the betting is done, as many dealers will announce, "X players," and if they don't, you can easily count the number of players with hands while the dealer's scooping the PF bets and putting out the flop. I also deduct 1 SB for the rake/BBJ.

postflop, I count them as they go in.

always count in number of SB or BB, much simpler.

[DavidC]

a) sometimes imprecise but better perhaps than manually counting... the more loose and passive the game, the better (less raise/folds pf)

[FatedEquity]

I used to count bets precisely when I was just starting out, but now I tend to just estimate the pot size. I recap the past action and do a quick calculation to sum up the pot size arriving at an approximate answer.

Usually the dealer announces how many players are in the hand after the street is over, so you can just take that number and multiply it by the size bet put into the pot per player. I don't count the .5 small blind if he folded.

Over time you will intuitively know what kind of action leads to what size pots. With practice it becomes much easier.

[Yossarian147]

I count PF only after the action closes. I play at Hustler 4/8 usually where there's no SB (weird I know) so I subtract one small bet for the drop. Then I'll count bets as they go in on the flop, and then divide by 2 for the turn.

[slavic]

Just count the bets as they go in. Estimate the drop or rake as a bet size and just remove it as you go. Since you shouldn't be playing in 80% of the hands, practice counting the pot on your off hadns and it will become quickly natural.

Now tell me how to count another guys stack who seems to always hide a lavender chip behind in NL. I'm on the plus side versus people pulling this move so far, but it's darn sure frustrating.