Back in the day, when I was playing poker seriously, world wide webbage was very different to how it is today.
Back then, the internet was all trees with people misbehaving via Friends Reunited it's biggest problem. Innocent times. Ish.
Forums were all the rage in those days and I was a keen contributor to many; around half a dozen football-based, another on general punting and a couple of poker ones.
Within the poker forums, discussing theory and strategy was often frowned upon, in fear that such practices would divulge trade secrets. Personally, I have never suffered with such delusions of grandeur (although, I am offended by my Sharkscope ability rating - 76? Pfft!), so I would often be hit with accusations of "feeding the fish".
While, technically, such opinions have their merits, - especially if the forum is directly linked a site on which you play - such a mindset is why so many professional poker players end up joyless husks of their former selves.
This is a great question and thread and one that deserves to be answered with the kind of honesty that would've sent those uncharitable grumps of yesteryear into a keyboard tapping frenzy.
So "NH", of course it means "nice hand", but, as the title of the thread eludes to, there is clearly more to this commonly used two-letter comment.
As with many words and phrases in the English language, one statement can mean very different things, dependent of the situation - unfortunately, we currently live in a world where the sayer or doer is rarely consulted when context is being decided.
Anyway, let's keep it light and get back to the point...
Personally, I say and use "NH" for many different reasons:
1) Sarcasm, but in a nice way, with humour the sole objective. An example, I scooped a PLO8 raised pot the other night with a pair of 2's. My opponent's "NH" was fittingly harmless sarcasm.
2) Sarcasm, but in a snarky way. I don't do this as often as I once did, but we all know what I'm talking about. Your 18 BB stack gets called by a 28 BB stack and you're once 86% favourite hand turns into another chapter in the book. I guess the two main reasons for this outbreak of sarcasm is to a) mock, or b) to feel better - sometimes typing two letters is enough to exorcise the demons, after all, online poker comes with certain constraints, one cannot take a walk of the floor and spin £50 on roulette in order to let off steam.
3) Rubbing-down. I still can't get used to the phrase 'trash talk', but, that is what is meant with this example. I'm having beef with Player A (he started it!), and later he/she loses a pot that I am not in, once or twice in the past I may have said "NH" to his opponent. The aim is obviously to antagonise or tilt, and ultimately take advantage of such. However, I'm generally a pussycat at the table, so the opponent would have to be especially villainous for such tactics to be employed.
4) Courtesy. You fold and your opponent is nice enough to show you their hand before mucking. A response of "NH" is in appreciation of them showing you with the added hope that this appreciation leads to more of the same. Subconsciously, players are generally more likely to show their future hands if their previous acts of doing so brought a positive response, as opposed to the gesture being blanked, or worse. Of course, you don't have to be the folding player to adopt this.
5) To curry favour. There can be advantages to having a friendly rapport with players to your immediate left and right. Comments such as "NH" can aid this. However, on a site such as Sky, with 6-max meaning more tables to close and, therefore, more moves, it may not be that useful.
There are more, but I'm struggling to think of any worthy examples, right now. I may follow this up later.
Comments
Wins the thread.
Back then, the internet was all trees with people misbehaving via Friends Reunited it's biggest problem. Innocent times. Ish.
Forums were all the rage in those days and I was a keen contributor to many; around half a dozen football-based, another on general punting and a couple of poker ones.
Within the poker forums, discussing theory and strategy was often frowned upon, in fear that such practices would divulge trade secrets. Personally, I have never suffered with such delusions of grandeur (although, I am offended by my Sharkscope ability rating - 76? Pfft!), so I would often be hit with accusations of "feeding the fish".
While, technically, such opinions have their merits, - especially if the forum is directly linked a site on which you play - such a mindset is why so many professional poker players end up joyless husks of their former selves.
This is a great question and thread and one that deserves to be answered with the kind of honesty that would've sent those uncharitable grumps of yesteryear into a keyboard tapping frenzy.
So "NH", of course it means "nice hand", but, as the title of the thread eludes to, there is clearly more to this commonly used two-letter comment.
As with many words and phrases in the English language, one statement can mean very different things, dependent of the situation - unfortunately, we currently live in a world where the sayer or doer is rarely consulted when context is being decided.
Anyway, let's keep it light and get back to the point...
Personally, I say and use "NH" for many different reasons:
1) Sarcasm, but in a nice way, with humour the sole objective. An example, I scooped a PLO8 raised pot the other night with a pair of 2's. My opponent's "NH" was fittingly harmless sarcasm.
2) Sarcasm, but in a snarky way. I don't do this as often as I once did, but we all know what I'm talking about. Your 18 BB stack gets called by a 28 BB stack and you're once 86% favourite hand turns into another chapter in the book. I guess the two main reasons for this outbreak of sarcasm is to a) mock, or b) to feel better - sometimes typing two letters is enough to exorcise the demons, after all, online poker comes with certain constraints, one cannot take a walk of the floor and spin £50 on roulette in order to let off steam.
3) Rubbing-down. I still can't get used to the phrase 'trash talk', but, that is what is meant with this example. I'm having beef with Player A (he started it!), and later he/she loses a pot that I am not in, once or twice in the past I may have said "NH" to his opponent. The aim is obviously to antagonise or tilt, and ultimately take advantage of such. However, I'm generally a pussycat at the table, so the opponent would have to be especially villainous for such tactics to be employed.
4) Courtesy. You fold and your opponent is nice enough to show you their hand before mucking. A response of "NH" is in appreciation of them showing you with the added hope that this appreciation leads to more of the same. Subconsciously, players are generally more likely to show their future hands if their previous acts of doing so brought a positive response, as opposed to the gesture being blanked, or worse. Of course, you don't have to be the folding player to adopt this.
5) To curry favour. There can be advantages to having a friendly rapport with players to your immediate left and right. Comments such as "NH" can aid this. However, on a site such as Sky, with 6-max meaning more tables to close and, therefore, more moves, it may not be that useful.
There are more, but I'm struggling to think of any worthy examples, right now. I may follow this up later.
That's a terrific post @mushroom1
PS - Not forgotten your PM, will reply soonest, have been a bit under it.
No probs mate.