Quote Originally Posted by DJJunkPauds
I hear people on here say things like "This is an over pair way more than a straight", but how do you figure that out at the table? Is it just a case of analyzing the same situation post-session so many times that eventually you just know what the right price is without ever doing any math, or are you guys all rain man, and work out the minutia on every single street, in every single hand, counting every single combo they could hold, and what that does to your equity?

I get the math, I just don't know how to apply it on a 30 second timer.
The "rain man" thing made me LoL.

I'm a math professor, and I don't do the math at the table on a 30 second timer, or at least not in the way you're asking. I have hand groups that I think about:

1. PP's
2. Broadways
3. Ax
4. sc's suited 1 gappers

And so forth. I know what percentage of opening hands each group is, so based on PF HUD stats, I start from there. Based on betting, I take out as many groups (or parts of groups) as I can. Then, based on what's left, I estimate the probably he holds the exact combinations that beat me.

My estimates at the table are probably within only 5 - 10% of what I get later when I really sit down and analyze it, but that's good enough for poker. If the decision is close enough that 5% matters on your pot odds, there's probably no way to be certain about the correct play anyway (before seeing villain's cards).