The One

Online poker players, like members of other online communities, use a lot of specialized shorthand to communicate with each other. Anyone who plays online poker long enough is bound to be exposed to enough of it to pick it up, even if they never chat with anyone; they'll see enough chat going on among their opponents to pick up the lingo. Here's a summary of the most common shorthand used by online poker players; some of it is generic internet shorthand which we as internet citizens also use:

nh - nice hand
ty - thank you
yw -you're welcome
vnh - very nice hand
lol - laughing out loud
brb - be right back

Shorthand also comes into play in how we address each other in the chat box. Almost invariably, user handles are shortened to the likeliest abbreviation. As you might suspect, people generally address me as "neo"; they almost never address me by my full handle of "neostreet". The fact that I'm known as "neo" has a nice side effect - it calls to mind the hero of the classic science fiction movie "The Matrix" (and its sequels). I can't swear that some part of me didn't have this in the back of my mind when I picked my handle four years ago. I have to say, when you come out on top in a sit and go, you definitely feel like you're "The One"! :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 50000       800           6        14     5        0
 50000       800           6        42     1   195000

delta: $93,400
tournament balance: $1,338,890
balance: $6,469,621