As a rookie starting out, you just need to focus on the cards as they appear to you. Start with your own hand, then the dealer's up card, the other players' hit cards;and finally the other players' hole cards as they are turned over. Your pattern of card observation should remain consistent every hand when you are just learning to count, that way you're not skipping any cards, nor double counting any. Later, after you are comfortable with that skill, you can pick up the tactic of "peeking" at you neighbor's hole cards, left and right, which by the way is the reason I prefer "shortstop" next to 3rd base, and later you can utilize tricks like "hand inference" etc. But first things first, so start with your basic protocol.