That line of thinking isn't all wrong. When a nit opens, you know the range is narrow. They likely hold a hand worthy of going broke with. It's also very easy to put them on a range.

On the flip side though, if they play post flop like a nit too, the value is greatly diminished to draw against them.

Why do people assume that if a fish calls you a nit, that the fish is right every time? Do people even realize that someone could be card dead? "Stop being a nit" sounds like something a fish would say.

If you play to win, you should usually be at least at level 2 thinking, as most poker students understand this terminology. But when you're playing with a terrible recreational player, you have to consider that they're "thinking" around level 0 or lower. That's how you need to talk to them.

It's all a matter of degrees of illogic. Level 0 is your average mindless compulsive gambler, taking hands to flops like he's paying the minimum bet to see a hand of blackjack. The kind of preflop thinking he understands is binary: "I'm in" and "Call." So that's how you talk to him. An excuse for folding could be something like, "I'm just not feeling these cards" or a simple audible grunt. (The former is actually more of a level 0.5 consideration. Don't push it, or you may overwhelm him.)

Level –1 is all about observing false patterns in the cards. Typical preflop decisions are predicated on things like "Fours are hot at this game," or "This dealer loves tens." So, you respond in kind: "I've been getting tons of eights and nines, and they're clearly no good at this table." This is somewhat probabilistically unsound over a long sample, but don't worry about that. No one's calculating.

Level –2 and lower usually involve a combination of watching for false patterns and outright superstition. This kind of player will often carry "lucky" trinkets and/or make superstitious gestures during a hand. Deflecting criticism of tight play is easy with this type of "thinker." Simply take out any random object or point out a piece of jewelry you are wearing, and cite its sage advice as the reason for your frequent folding.

Have at least a couple different lines of banter for each level down to –2, and you should be covered for any situation.

If a fish is playing almost every hand why aren't you seeing more flops? Who knows if you are a nit, but waiting for AA and KK isn't that great a strategy.

I agree with trying to make the table fun.

Also, it doesn't really matter.

I was card dead in a 1/2 game. Wake up with aces. Raise to$15 (ldo, its Florida!)

Guy to my right announces (loudly) that I haven't played a hand in 2 hours.

I get 3 callers.

when ever someone has said something about my play (be it I'm playing tight or I shoulda played it this way or that) I usually respond "I haven't gotten to that chapter in the book yet. I'm reading poker for dummies"

That & "I'm only gonna play AA or KK from now on...." or "This is my 1st time playing. I have no idea what I'm doing" are all part of my repertoire.

I just tell people I'm card dead. I don't mind being seen as a nit. I never make hands anyways. Once I told a guy I couldn't play k6o as well as him, and then every time I raised he was like oh you must have aa. It's better to be nice and sociable. If the fish like you they won't care how you play.

OP, don't let this type of thing get to you. The only people who call others are for that are indeed the fish who aren't there to fold. So take solace in that they will eventually spew money away and hopefully you get it. Best thing to do is either ignore it or play it off calmly, make a joke or something. Don't make them mad by engaging in an argument or trying to explain yourself. Not worth it.

Waiting for AA and KK? The OP didn't say anything about what types of hands he is folding.

In live low-stakes no limit games, fish are used to playing against other fish who play too many hands. Even the regs are usually bad and play too many hands. What fish are not used to seeing is a good tag or a good lag player because there are only a very small number of good players at those stakes. So it's not surprising to me when a fish can't tell the difference between a nit and even a good lag player. A fish might think a good lag player would be loose in early position (fish often don't even care about position), and play like 70-80 percent of their hands.

A very common mistake I see in the live low-stakes NL forum is playing too many hands, so I strongly disagree with advice to loosen up UNLESS the OP actually is super nitty, which I doubt is the case.

Just don't say anything. I tend to just not say anything when someone who is playing way too many hands yells at me. I want them to continue playing literally every hand.

Also there are different types of nits in my opinion. There is a strong tight player who is tough cause they pretty much always have nuts. Then there is guy who sits and doesn't play any hands except AA and KK and takes up space at table.

"every time I see a face card, I see a duece to go with it...."

"I'm just trying to hang in here long enough for my wife to go to sleep"

Bro you gotta move up to where they respect your raises.

I am very sociable at the table, but rarely talk about poker and I don't mean only strategy. I don't comment on hands. I don't ask my opponent if he would have called an all-in. I don't comment on how nines seem to be coming in today. I don't talk about a player after he leaves the table. If somebody asks me about another player I mention how he seems to have a penchant for hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream. When I lose a hand I smile. When I win a hand I start talking about the trade the Tigers just made. After I check-raise with a draw and hit it I don't explain how I had xx outs twice and blah blah blah.

And when someone chides me about being a nit I respond by telling them about the time I bet a $20 exacta key box at the Breeders Cup after I was already stuck $1k and hit for $3k, then left even. Now that was a good day. You ever been to the Kentucky Derby? Blackjack is the devil. You play golf? What are your favorite courses in the area? Anybody seen the waitress? Okay sometimes I tell them some of my grandfather's old lines. "My hand looks like a foot!" "I am waiting for a card that when I look at it, it is looking back. You know what I mean?"

That's the spirit!

What about the poor guy who gets called a fish by a nit? Where's the love for him?

Usually when that happens, there's enough irate players at the table who'll come to his defense anyway. Then again, even without the ridicule, the fish gets plenty of love, all the time.

Some fish think K2 is a good hand.

And K2s is a mooonster.....