Online poker lacks the social atmosphere of a real poker table, where you can see and chat casually with your fellow players. They do, however, provide a chat window where you can type messages to your opponents. A lot of acronyms have evolved to save some typing. This tends to baffle newcomers, but they aren't that hard to decipher.

Here is a list of some of the most common ones. With these as a base, you should be able to figure out any others you come across.

• gg - good game - Usually said to someone who has played well, but just got busted out.


• nh - nice hand; also n1 or just n


• nb - nice bet - Usually said by someone who wanted to stay, but got priced out by a bet too large to call, but not so large as to be an overbet


• ty - thank you - the courteous response to the compliements above

In addition to the game-specific acronyms above, some "standard" chat acronyms come into play.

• cya - see ya


• lol - laughing out loud


• u2 - you too


• tc - take care


• :-) - a smile; also :), :D, or any number of others

If you frequently see others that aren't listed here,
and I'll add them to the list.

This article was previously posted on 04-Apr-2005, on the old site.