While I'd say I'm more of a math player I'm really a large bit of both.
The only math I really take to the table is ~10% to flop a set (making it worth it to call almost any size raise under 20 bucks with a pair preflop), ~30% to make an open ended straight draw by the river (making calling any bets giving you ~2-3:1 profitable), and ~35% to make a flush draw by the river (again making calling bets giving you ~2-3:1 profitable).
As far as keeping track of how much is in the pot if you are thinking of entering the pot you need to pay attention to how many large denomination chips are entering the pot (usually there are $5 chips in a 1/2 game). The method I used was to count chips in multiples of 5 because the dealer usually stacks them that way to count them anyway. I'm sure other people use different methods though.
There's only so much math you can do at the table before you have to make your decision.
When I made the transition from online to live I was shocked that the standard raise at the live 1/2 tables was 10-15 dollars as there is no mathematical reason to raise this amount nor to call it, but yet it is pretty standard at the many
casinos I have been to.
People also commonly bet over pot on the flop as a continuation bet even with middle pair, on ace high boards in three way flops and even just with straight and flush draws. Many of these people are there to have fun or for the thrill of the gamble.
I make the point above to answer your question that you need to make your math pretty simple and adjustable at a live cash game. The
odds to hit your cards remains the same, but the price you are going to get to draw to them is going to vary considerably from hand to hand and from person to person.
In general I use implied odds heavily in live cash games to determine who I play
hands with and which hands I play. I play stronger hands in isolation against smaller stacks because they are less likely to make me a lot of chips with a drawing hand. I play more drawing hands vs. large stacks in multiway flops in hopes that I can hit my draw and stack them off. The more likely I think someone is to stack off the more likely I am to call an overbet with a draw.