Come here often?

Recently a guy came up to me in a bar and uttered this line to me. I thought this line was an urban legend, a joke, a mockery of the real pick-up line. But he wasn't joking.

"No this is my first time here," I responded. Then I felt compelled to ask him the same question, "So do you come here often?" He replied something along the lines of "Yeah once in a while." And that was pretty much the end of that conversation.

I haven't encountered too horrible pick-up lines. This is of course excluding the lewd catcalls of drunken obnoxious men. I think the most effective and unassuming line is a simple "Hi." If a guy just walks up to a gal and says "Hi," there's no ulterior motive or hidden agenda. The purpose of his "Hi" is obvious - to talk to the gal, to initiate conversation. It shouldn't be sheepish or smarmy, but confident and friendly. The girl will inevitably respond "Hi" back. Depending on the girl's interest level, she will either continue to face him and smile, or turn her back to him/walk away from him/go to the restroom. It's all very simple and straightforward.

What happens after that, however, is another story.