Pot-Limit Question

[sullydavid]

I host a small game at home for agroup of us. Most of my poker life I have played structured or no-limit games.

A question has come up about an amount that can be bet during a pot-limit game. The question is, when considering the pot-limit, can a person consider his call as part of the pot in determining the amount the raise can be?

For example starting with a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2 could the first person to act raise by a max of $3 (the money currently in the pot) or by $5 (the money in the put plus the money he puts in to call the big blind).