Jim Brier column

I've been picking up Card Player lately, and I'm wondering why Jim Brier counts pots by absolute $$$ rather than BBs. Anyone prefer this style?


I enjoy the column... I'd just like to put in a vote for using BBs as the accounting units!

I prefer the $$$ method, but I think Jim and I are definitely in the minority here. When I started counting the pot, I started counting $$$ and I just kept doing it that way all these years. It is certainly easier, one would think, to think "there's 18 big bets in the pot, it's 2 bets to me, I'm getting 9:1" than "there's $1080 in the pot, it's $120 to me, 1080 divided by 120 is 9, I'm getting 9:1." But it's second nature to me now.


I guess I prefer the $$$ method because when I make my deposits or withdrawals my bank doesn't ask me how many big bets but how many $$$. [img]/images/wink.gif[/img]


Regards,

Andy

You are correct in that stating pot size in terms of number of bets is better than stating it in terms of dollars. Unfortunately, convention and old habits are hard to break and many of my readers in CardPlayer think in terms of dollars.


This reminds me of the "Go Metric" movement of 1970s which fizzled out. The metric system is vastly superior to the english system of measurement. Unfortunately, it simply never caught on in this country.


For the purposes of posting problems on this forum which is populated with serious poker players, it is probably better to use bets rather than dollars. I will try to do this in the future when I think of it.

In spread limit games (like the $2/$5 Colorado games I sometimes play), it's usually easier to just count the $ because the bet size is variable. In structured limit games, it's easier to count small bets and big bets. Online, just hover your mouse over the pot (and add in bets not yet called).

Jim,


The problem with dollars is that it is easy to make mistakes when switching back and forth between similar limits (e.g., 15/30 and 20/40).


My idea is to use small bets until the turn and on the turn and river use big bets.


Regards,


Rick

"Unfortunately, it simply never caught on in this country"


I better not have to figure out how many metres I hit a 7-iron.

Jim,


The metric system might have had a better chance if it had a more forceful Senator than Pell from my home state or Rhode Island behind it.


Regards,


Rick

seeing the distance written in meters on the green monster probably turned off 44.6 million people..jmho..gl

When I make my periodic deposits holding a bunch of $$$, I keep thinking that my bank teller must wonder if I'm involved in some illegal activity... Or maybe I'm just paranoid... [img]/images/wink.gif[/img]

The difference is that most Americans don't use the metric system and so American companies wouldn't market products using such a system. But I'd argue that most poker players count pots using BBs and articles using these units would satisfy a wider audience.