Chronicles Of Rake :: Black Nails & Silver Rings

The End.

2008-04-27T03:09:00.001-07:00

This is the end of my career as a Pickup Artist.

I woke up this morning next to a woman.

I realized that she is the one I want to wake up with the rest of my life.

I looked into her eyes, and it hit me that her happiness has become more important than my own.

I have been living my life selfishly while she has been steadfastly with me through it all. I have made her a promise which I intend to keep until my death. Which consequentially would require me to give it all up as a PUA.

I am, however, grateful for this experience. To paraphrase Neil Strauss, "...if I never found this stuff, I would live the rest of my life in some sort of darkness."

I now need to focus on the other important areas in my life. This is a worthwhile part of my journey to live meaningfully, and to build and leave a legacy.

I am now ready to soldier on.

But as far as this chapter in my life is concerned, it's now The End.

Archived FR: Adventures In Chiangmai (2007)

2008-03-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Saved here for posterity. This was a quick-and-dirty FR which I posted at the Malaysia Lair on my Chiangmai adventures.

One of the shittiest things when you're in pickup (and is adequately average at it like me) is the 'morning after' feeling - when you wake up the next morning and have to break the news to her that it's somehow all over.

Date posted: October 23rd, 2007

Guys,

I am now back in Bangkok, emailing you from the backpacker dunghole that is Khaosan.

Yes, I sorely needed a wing. On Monday evening I had gone to another bar, where I was cockblocked by two Thais who obviously didn't like me talking to their local women.

I didn't even get the name of this Thai HB7 I was talking to - as I could remember now (sorry, at that point I was half-stoned by the overdose of Singha beer) she was an English teacher, recovering from heartbreak, and lonely. Ripe for a sarge, you might say.

Things got along well and she had asked if she could bring me to this other place called Spicy, which was an 'underground' club which opened from 1am onwards (clubs are legally required to close at 2am).

I said ok, and had wanted to build more rapport with her but then two Thai men surrounded her and blocked me from her. Could have easily sorted this out with a wing, but oh well.

While the men were busy distracting her, she signalled to me that we would get out from the place in about half an hour. I nodded.

And then I realized that she could just have a bout of buyer's remorse so I decided to sarge another woman to build some social proof. Anything's better than sitting there on the bar waiting for her.

So I turned around and saw this Thai HB7 who had repeatedly glanced at me. She wore the T-shirt which said "Cum Again, Christopher Kane" (yes, wtf) - great neg opener opportunity there, guys. Negged her, and she giggled.

She said she had seen me talk to the earlier group and so she thought I was Thai. A few negs and DHVs and silver nails and rings routines after we were getting along pretty nicely. Her name was Khung (as in Tom Yam Khung - shrimp!).

Then came a Thai man, in his 40's who spoke really good English. He joined in the conversation and made fun of the HB7's T-shirt. He was very well spoken, and a charmer. Later he told me that he owned the bar, and pointed to a picture on the wall which he took with the King. His name was Ott (Over The Top, he quipped).

I came to really like this man - he told me stories of how he established the bar (easily the biggest and most popular in Chiangmai), and how his friendship with Joe Cummings (writer of the Lonely Planet guide) ensured the entry of his bar into all 20 editions of the travel guide. Quite an amazing fellow, he was.

As the owner of the bar, he could have pulled any chick there. But he was there, talking to us, and it was difficult for me to game the HB7 with him around. She was in awe of his presence (imagine going to Zouk, and a gentleman came over and tell you he owns it), and I figured how to salvage the situation.

I ran the three-guesses-on-where-I-come-from-and-you-buy-me-a-drink routine (self-explanatory) and it worked quite well. She then said that she would drive me to Spicy and buy me a drink there, so I said ok.

At this point Ott said that he would follow us. Dang, another cockblock.

I then hopped into Khung's car - and tried to ask her to drive elsewhere but Spicy. She said we should go there since we have told Ott that we would be there. So we went to this place near the moat just right outside the old city.

From the outside, it looked 'closed', but it was buzzing with activity on the inside. Ott came and then ushered us in, and he introduced us to the owner - a very streetwise lady in her early 30's called Ann. I had no doubt that I was in the company of some of the movers and shakers of Chiangmai.

We went on the dancefloor (yes, three of us - it was an odd sight) and Ott bought us Strongbow (priciest shit in the club). I felt totally powerless vs this guy - he didn't AMOG me the slightest, but the fact that he didn't consciously try to do that made him perhaps very classy.

Perhaps surprisingly, after he finished his drink, he said he was leaving us both as he had business to attend to in the morning. We tried asking him to stay (yeah, yeah), but he insisted. He whispered into Khung's ear and then left.

(Later I found that he told Khung that he liked her, and would want to see her again.)

Khung didn't really like it in Spicy (she told me later that there were lots of whores on the prowl), so again we location-bounce to another underground club. This time we drove out of the city and arrived at this place called Jam's. It was her old haunt and everybody knew her.

When we sat at the bar her waitress friend served her immediately with chicken feet soup (yes, I know, imagine going to Laundry and they serve you sup kambing). Her favorite, she said. It was surprisingly very good. We then spent some quality time together - I had to invest more in comfort to avoid buyer's remorse.

A couple of 'reverse-investment' routines (got her to buy me beer, and a stalk of rose) and some social proof (talked to another Thai chick - 'Rabbit' - who sat next to us while Khung went to the ladies' - Khung came back and I immediately switched back to her which made Rabbit visibly jealous and Khung superbly pleased) and it seemed to be all sorted.

"I like your T-shirt. Sell to me. 10 Baht." I said, referring to her Cum Again top.

"I will give you free." She winked. It was on.

We then went back to my el cheapo B190-per-night stinkhole of a guesthouse (sneaked in - Thai's were NOT allowed legally to go into the rooms).

This is not a lay report so no details here - but it was a 'challenge' because she couldn't keep the noise level down, and to make things worse, the walls were made of flimsy cardboards. I couldn't stop imagining that the police would bust into the room anytime.

In the morning she woke up with a bad headache - and god she looked weary. Bought her some panadol from 7-11. We then cuddled and she lovingly applied a fresh layer of silver nail polish on my nails.

Later she sent me to the airport (so I saved 100B on tuk-tuk!) and we bid farewell. I was supposed to call her but her number which I scribbled on my palm got washed off this morning. Oh well...

There's few more days remaining until I leave Thailand. Let's see if there's anything interesting happens while I go wingless here in Bangkok.

Rake

FR: CP HB7.5

2008-03-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Venue: Poppy, Jalan P Ramlee
Date: 29 March 08

"Hey, what's your name?"

"CP."

"Phoebe?"

"No...alphabets. CP."

"Ah, I thought you were named after the Friends character."

"Haha...Phoebe."

"You know the actor I am talking about?"

"Yes...Lisa Kudrow."

SOI? "You're probably one of the four people I know who knows her real name. Everybody else knows her as Phoebe."

She laughed.

Neg? "Don't know, but you sound like her. You know, you're kinda...kooky. I suppose you also strum the guitar and sing about cats?"

She laughed again. "Maybe coz I speak really fast?"

"Yeah, for a moment I thought you were on speed. Or ecstasy."

"Haha...no."

I moved on closer to her and whispered into her ear. "I have some. Want?"

"Haha..."

I pretended to dig deep into my pockets. "It's really cheap. And I'll give you special discount, just for you, tonight only." I winked.

"Haha...not tonight."

We were vibing quite nicely until her cockblock of a friend (not a bad looker herself, I must admit) came, gave me a dirty look, and pulled her away. Fuck.

Thankfully, Jason was in the same group so I signaled him to 'neutralize' the cockblock. He did a good job at distracting her, while I discreetly pulled CP's hand and isolated her to the platform a couple of meters away.

Gave her the "Jealous Girlfriend" routine. Another round of SOI? "You know, I have asked maybe around 100 females, and you were one of the handful who gave that answer. Respect."

She laughed again.

"Look, I gotta go back to my friends. You're really interesting, and I wanna talk to you again. Give me your number."

"Sure."

I dished out my phone. It was dead. Tried to switch it on. I couldn't. Fuck.

"Nevermind. Give me yours instead." Which I then did.

Then miraculously the phone came back on. And she gave me a miss-call. Gave her a hug and then walked off with Jason (who also number-closed her friend, I believe).

She seemed nice enough for Day 2, which as of the time of writing, I am still deciding whether to call or not. Maybe not.

FR: Winnie HB7.5

2008-03-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Venue: Poppy, Jalan P Ramlee
Date: 29 March 08

A group of five girls passed us by doing a 'train' walk.

The last one in line was incidentally also the prettiest. Vertically-challenged but she has got a cute face which I wouldn't mind waking up next to.

I 'joined' the 'train' by putting my hands on her shoulder. She turned around. Her friends didn't wait for her.

"I want to talk to you."

"I need to follow my friends."

"Wait...tell me your name."

"Winnie."

"Quick...go back to your friends before you lose them. But I want to talk to you later. So here." I handed her my phone.

[Quick tip: if you give your phone to your target, most of the time they will just punch in their numbers. You sometimes don't even have to ask, really.]

She was punching her numbers into my clumsy PDA phone. She struggled to use the stylus while I waited patiently.

While she was still busy working my phone, an SMS came in. Incidentally, from Long Legs Chick (whom I nicknamed as 'Sayang' in my phonebook), and the message occupied the whole screen.

She groaned. I cursed my luck. I was expecting her to ask me to shove it.

"OK, I'll tell you my number instead and you key it in. 012-2943xxx. Talk soon."

Probably my fastest number-close ever at 45 seconds, tops. Fool's mate or solid game? You tell me.

FR: Sofia HB8

2007-06-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was at the receptionist counter at my service apartment right across Robertson Quay, Singapore.

"I'm checking out please."

"So early? You're booked until end of the month."

"Yes, but I have gotten a permanent place to stay."

"Really? Where?" My, my, you sure are a nosey receptionist, I must say. Or are you just hitting on me?

"It's nearer to my workplace. Walking distance...so more convenient."

"Where is your workplace?"

"Novena."

"What's your address?" Huh? Did I hear you right?

"Why?"

"Because if I'm there I might just come over and see you." Excuse me? Are we the best of friends now?

"You're kidding, right?"

Grin.

"How about your email address?"

"I can't give you. Not unless I know your name."

"Sofia." She handed me a pen and paper.

Wrote down.

"I'll be waiting for your email." Coy smile.

God I dig that uniform.

FR :: Cecil HB7.5

2007-06-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have only dated Cecil once when I was in KL about two years back.

She had added me on Friendster, and she looked interesting enough on profile. Slim, petite and has a really cute smile.

I agreed to a date. Went to Marche on The Curve, and we hit it off immediately. She was kinda wary of the things I said and did as I had *accidentally* told her about my 'extracurricular' activities during one of our late night chats. Ran the hand reading routine on her as an excuse for kino, which I suspected that she already knew, but she played along.

The date went well. I did not go out with her again after that for one reason - she appeared to have lots of emotional baggage.

She had a couple of failed relationships. Her last boyfriend worked in America, and promised to take her there. But instead he got involved with another girl and dumped her. Now she's with a Russian boyfriend who traveled most of his time.

And yeah, she was horny as hell. Our late night calls would inevitably border on phone sex. She was totally gagging for it. But it went a little too fast, even for me.

I've been with these kind of women before. Fun as they are up for anything and everything, but I could never tolerate excess insecurity in women. She was at least good for a fling. Or maybe as part of an mLTR.

But no, I did not fuck her.

About a year back she moved down to Singapore and went on a job which required her to travel to Indonesia, China and Russia. Lost contact for awhile, but when she found that I was also relocating to the Lion City, she wasted no time.

"Are you going to stay on your own?"

"Er, yes. Why?"

"Could I stay with you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Coz if we stay together we will not go to work and just fuck our brains out everyday."

When I finally came down here (and moved to an apartment near Clarke Quay), I had invited her over. She immediately went into the room and found my condoms. Sure enough, she found one condom left in the Durex pack of three, and shrieked like a girl having her first orgasm.

On the sofa we were already kino-ing like crazy.

I spanked her firm butt more times that I could count in a matter of 5 minutes.

She showed me a yoga move where she inhaled and exhaled while wiggling her tits at my face. OK.

But somehow it did not feel right. Partly because I was already TOO involved with my current girlfriend that I was beginning to feel that I actually loved her. And secondly, I wasn't sure if I could do whatever I could do without causing much emotional damage.

RJ would probably kick this girl out as a fractionation tactic. But I chased her out just because I did not feel like fucking her. I asked her to leave. At 1.30am. No, lady, you're not sleeping over.

Caught her a cab, and sms-ed her when she got home. Maybe something would develop out of this, but then again, I know I will definitely won't be with her no matter what. Good for a fling, bad for an LTR.

And hell I won't want to find a burly Russian on ramming on my door for shagging his girlfriend.

It's A Bloody Mess.

2007-03-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

I've discovered that while I am getting better at pickup, I am getting worse at maintaining relationships. My LTR1 and pre-LTR2 are unhappy. Mid-game (possible LTR3) getting frustrated with my flaking.

LTR1: I was returning an ex-'s call, but accidentally called LTR1 instead. And called the wrong name. She freaked out. Lately she has been trying to follow me everywhere I go. Which brings me to...

Pre-LTR2: Flaked on her on Thursday after LTR1 insisted to tag along. She freaked out when I cancelled on her. Later had a good one hour emo talk on the phone. She's getting more depressed by the day. Which affected me really badly. Wrote me another poem and bought me a Paulo Coelho book. Scribbled something personal (which I can't share here even) in the book. I feel sorry for her.

Mid-game HB8. My interest level is going down the drain. She came over near my office and asked me out for lunch. Said yes, but in the end flaked on her. She sounded furious over the phone.

I am nearly done. I am tired. I want out.

HB8 Mid-Game Sarge (Natalie)

2007-03-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

Date: 3 March 2007
Time: 8.45pm - 10.30pm
Location: Laundry + Sakae Sushi, The Curve

I have stopped doing Day 2's for a variety of reasons -

1. I have become more choiceful in choosing the things I want to do, and this means that I need to choose who I want to spend time with.

2. I enjoy the 'speedy' nature of picking up women and getting their phone numbers, but not the tedious process of 'dating'.

3. I don't enjoy dicking every other woman who I pick up even if I could.

4. I screen women primarily on looks, but if I decide to spend more time with them (ie Day 2's), I would expect them to at least be able to hold a decent conversation with me and be interesting.

5. And, if the HB is both attractive physically AND able to hold my attention, then it's highly probable that I would invest my emotions into the 'relationship' and possibly turn into an LTR. But I have got my hands full now as far as LTRs are concerned. :)

For these reasons, probably 95% of the emails and the phone numbers that I collected go to the bin. The ONLY exception that I will make is that - if the HB makes an effort to 'chase' (and she's at least a 7.5), then I would play along and do Day 2's.

This particular HB8 - I had email-closed her three months back, which I followed up by some banter over email. She had started calling me irregularly before Chinese New Year. Last week she had asked for a date.

I could appreciate how hard it is for a woman to ask a man out, so I agreed. Later she told me that it was a 'total nervewreck' to ask me out. Which I could totally understand. :)

So we met for drinks at Laundry on Saturday evening. I could still recognize her from the last time I seen her. She had really sharp features, which were unconventional for a Chinese girl. Huge, sensual eyes. Sharp nose. A great smile. Petite. Perhaps insecure about her height. If she's a little taller she could easily be a 9.

Earlier during the week I had heard Jordan and AJ's podcast where the guys interviewed Dan (aka Social Hitchhiker) - Juggler's man at Charisma Arts. The purveyuors of natural game. I see myself primarily as a Mystery Method devotee, but I have found that the system severely lacks when it comes to building and maintaining relationships. I mean, how much routines could you stack before running out? Natural game is the missing link in bridging between pickup and seduction.

Dan mentioned that the three biggest "tools" in the natural game arsenal are - push-pull, sexual barriers and disqualification. As always, I would never waste the opportunity to test new routines, lines and theories in the field.

In mid-game, I had found, you gotta stack up multiple 'principles' as you would stack up routines as you would in A1. Here's what I did.

Disqualification: I told her I was gay, and my 'boyfriend' was lurking somewhere in the club. Also, that my best friend's single and she would be the perfect partner for him.
DHV via cold reading: Ran the Ring Finger Routine and she loved it. Social-vs-being alone cold-read.
Kino: Initially, outer arms, and further escalate via palm-read which led to hand-helding. Luck-lines, relationship-lines. In hindsight, could have done a little more on hair / escalate to neck.
SOIs: That she was interesting and funny. But followed each SOI by disqualification / push-pull.
Elicit values: From Jealous Girlfriend opener which bridged to what she seeked in a boyfriend. Further EV-ing and some SS patterns / anchoring.
Scarcity: Time-constraints (I told her that I had to leave by 10pm, which was a 'real' time constraint - I had another date with another mid-game)
Location-bounce / time distortion: Nearby mall and to supper, in a timespan of 1.5 hours.

She lapped it all up, and then some. :) She seemed to remember the things that I told her the first time I met her, and had a mental list of everything that she already knew about me. When I picked her up, it seemed that I had showed her this metal locket that I had bought in Africa which I called my lucky charm. She had asked about it, and also the Bali painting that I had bought for my sister, etc. I had absolutely NO recollection of saying those things to her, but she seemed to have remembered it ALL. She even recited the things that she already knew about me, and even the specific things I said to her for the past month.

I didn't kiss- (or full-) close her, but I didn't intend to. She seemed genuinely nice, a good candidate for LTR perhaps (unlike some real thrashy women I met throughout the years) - she was physically attractive, and was genuinely interesting and witty.

She was definitely someone I'd like to see again. Which put me in quandary, really. I was already juggling between LTR1 and 'pseudo'-LTR2 here in KL, and I would be moving to Singapore in less than a month's time. In Singapore, there's already another HB8 mid-game (who I had dated in KL before she moved down to Singapore). So what gives?

Rake

Cutting A Sarge Loose

2007-02-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

I have decided to cut a sarge loose.

I have been showing symptoms of one-itis with this particular sarge, and as anyone would advise me, I should go and sarge ten other women.

But I couldn't.

This morning I had come to realize that she was not an LTR possibility. Odds are stacked against us, and there's no way we could make it work.

I had promised her that I would not walk out on her. But that is exactly what I am going to do when I see her again.

The stake is just too high, and it is at a price that I am not willing to pay.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Do I Look Like A Tool To You, Baby?

2007-02-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

I received this sms from this HB7 on Feb 13th.

HB7> Am I getting flowers on valentine's day?

As anyone who knows me knows, I have as much disdain for the V-day (also known as National Pussybeggar's Day or National Supplicator's Day) as I have for self-righteous, religious-types who come knocking on my door with that holier-than-thou smile on their face.

Heck, I don't even buy flowers for my LTR. Here comes this chick who I don't even REMEMBER where I pick up, ASKING me to buy her flowers for valentines day. Imagine my amusement.

Wait...I sorta remembered her - I flaked on her after she asked me to bring her out and BUY HER DINNER. She obviously didn't learn her lesson then.

I could not help but to play along.

Rake> Sure. What would u like?
HB7> Real ones. (OK guys, hold the laughter. It gets better.) Roses, Lily.
Rake> OK. How about two dozen of red roses
HB7> Up to u. Send to my office

Tool me, baby, so that you are validated in the eyes of your colleagues. How convenient. But you don't know who you're dealing with now, do you, darling?

Rake> Why office? I'll send to your home instead
HB7> Why not office? Nobody at home to receive it
Rake> OK. What do I get in return?
HB7> A kiss on the cheek (woo fucking hoo! A kiss! ON THE CHEEK!)
Rake> Wow, thanks. Do I get a date?
HB7> Wait until I see the flowers, then I will decide (You don't know you're being PLAYED now, do you, darling?)

Time to turn it up a notch.

Rake> OK, I called the shops and they have run out of flowers. I will send next week
HB7> No, send tomorrow. Next week is CNY

OK, OK, you win...but don't hold your breath for the flowers, baby.

The big V-day came, and the expected sms arrived...

HB7> Why din I c my flowers?
Rake> What do you mean? I sent red roses
HB7> U din ask for my address
Rake> (Sorry for the BLOODY OBVIOUS error!) OK, tell me then
HB7> xxx, Jalan Raja Laut, etc etc
Rake> OK, red roses coming right up!! (YEAH RIGHT!)

The day passes...and I guess it finally sunk into her that she obviously not getting any bloody frame-supplicating, value-lowering, stalks of red roses from me.

The next day I couldn't resist but to taunt her a little.

Rake> So you like the flowers?
HB7> Din receive any
Rake> Poor thing
HB7> Bastard

I felt like laughing out loud at this point.

Men are so easily tooled. That's why 99.99% women today behave like they do. Can't blame them because the society programs them that they are the PRIZE. But guess what,it's time to bloody WAKE UP. All the talk about sexual equality and women expect men to CHASE? Give me a fucking break. I have quit CHASING since a year ago and guess what - my pulling power has increased ten times over.

AFCs out there still question my methods. But guess who's getting all the PUSSY?

Rake

Switching States

2007-02-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today on the way to work I listened to this podcast where Ross Jeffries was featured. He made an interesting point about the danger of adopting a single frame or behaviour in the interaction (ie cocky funny).

He suggested this technique of switching states in the interaction - move from being intuitive (do some cold reading) and the switch to commanding ("come sit down here next to me"), and then to funny, and then to vulnerable. Repeat the cycle.

The basis of this technique is fracteration - if you switch from one state to the other, the moment you fall back into a previous state, the intensity increases. This is also the basis of hypnosis, or more directly in the area of pickup - push-pull.

RJ was (unfairly) portrayed as the bad guy in The Game. I do think that he has some great stuff to offer despite SS' inherent shortcomings (ie no emphasis on the development of inner game, and the insane work required to pull some of the higher level techniques ie hypnotism). And also lest not forget that he founded the community in the 80s.

Rake

Calibration in the Malaysian Context of Sarging

2007-02-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

This is an article I wrote that I shared with the Malaysia Seduction Lair.

The most common reaction that we have when we (Malaysians) are exposed to theories and techniques (neg, cocky funny, DHV, false disqualifiers, push-pull, hoop theory, freeze-out, social proof, etc) is that if they would work in a local context.

The general notion is that they should not be different for any particular race because women are hard-wired to respond to the same characteristics and triggers - higher value, ability (and willingness) to walk, non-neediness - no matter what color their skin is.

From my experience, the principles of pickup and seduction remain sound, but in the Malaysian sarging context, there is a strong need for calibration given the differences between a Malaysian girl and, say, a New Yorker chick. I have found the three principles below to be helpful in calibrating a local target and to structure my game accordingly.

1. MAKE SURE SHE UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU SAY. Run some Speed Seduction patterns ("With me standing on the bridge, I could see the river BELOW ME") with the local Ah Lian at Poppy and she would look at you with a gaping mouth. If she can't understand a word you say, you can't game. Period.

As trivial as it sounds, but if you're going to game her in ENGLISH, make sure she understands ENGLISH. I can't (congruently) do the Jealous Girlfriend opener in Cantonese. Don't even ask.

2. CALIBRATE THE SURROUNDINGS, NOT ONLY THE TARGET. The more rooted your opener is, the higher the chances of them opening up. My "recommend me a gift of a book for a friend" opener never failed me in MPH or Borders, because they are in-context and non-harmless. Sets in 'neutral' places such as bookshops and mamak stalls are generally more receptive than, say, bars and clubs where the 'approachee' immediately adopts a lower value frame and therefore at a disadvantage.

I have found that Malaysian girls have higher-than-average bitch shields especially in clubs and bars. Combine that with the high noise level (both from the music and from nearby distraction) and obstacles (AMOGs, cockblocks) and the odds are stacked against your favour.

3. DON'T NEG FOR AN OPENER. It's far more effective to do an opinion opener than to neg a local girl. Neg is supposed to DHV and also to lower down the bitch shield - at the expense of sounding like an insult. In the Malaysian context, they have to be watered down to such an extent that they are rendered useless. In my experience, negs are useful AFTER opening and when you are going for the hook point.

This is only my personal opinion, but I am of the belief that Malaysian girls generally have 'lower than low' LSE, and the structure of our game must always take this into account.

Net, pick up (pardon the pun) all the techniques you want, but before you jump into a (local) set to test them out, CALIBRATE.

In brotherhood,

Rake

"Silver Rings And Black Nails"
http://kingzen.blogspot.com/

Field Report - Comeback Sarge

2007-02-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

It was the high point of my pickup career. I completely overturned an LJBF situation (see earlier field report) into the start of (another) LTR. :)

I was LJBFed just two days earlier when she told me that she was seeking a ‘platonic’ relationship, and nothing else. I had made the classic mistake of not building enough comfort before bridging into seduction.

“We are both attached. So how could it be non-platonic?” She had asked.

A million reasons, baby. How about being true to ourselves and our desires, and stop worrying about the social ‘consequences’?

As any PUA would know, there is no use trying to convince a woman with pure logic. But drive their emotions hard enough until they want you and they will then do the rationalization themselves. That is more powerful and persuasive than anything you would ever say.

Here’s how I did it.

I completely froze her out right after she delivered that ultra-nasty LJBF line. I told her that I could never do platonic relationships. So it would be a ‘no deal’. And I said that “we should just go our own ways and be happy.”

She was obviously upset, but I didn’t budge. LJBF is essentially a shit-test. If you give in, you fail. Don’t be one of those AFCs who would wait forever and hope for something to happen. The (only) correct response to LJBF, IMHO, is a freeze-out. If she likes you, she will pull you back in. If she doesn’t, then make the exit. Both ways, it’s a winner.

She pulled me back in, saying that I was ‘shutting the door on her’ and it was her ‘prerogative’ to be angry.

OK. I was still in LJBF zone, but at least I was then back in the Game.

The turning point came later in the evening when we went to a club with a group of mutual friends.

I went on a rampage and sarged eight women – both groups and individual targets. I was spitting routine after routine, and location-bounced them to bring them near her so that she could have full view of what I was doing.

When I felt that I had pumped her buying temperature enough, I moved her to the quieter area of the club.

With the emotions already running wild with jealousy (the women I sarged came to look for me while I was gaming her), I didn’t have much persuading to do. We were on, and she had lost the inhibitions that she had had about 'cheating'. She even said she’s excited with going into ‘uncharted territory’.

The next morning we had breakfast together, and we felt so much more comfortable with each other. Now I don’t know how long we could make this last, but then again I don’t claim to be an MLTR expert.

We don’t want to compromise our respective LTRs – for me my (official) girlfriend is still the best in the world – and I wouldn’t want to hurt her in any way.

But like the scorpion in the scorpion and turtle story, I’d rather face (and embrace) my true nature even if I go down.

Rake

LJBF-ed

2007-02-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

I got LJBF-ed.

This girl I (reluctantly) sarged said that all she wanted as a 'platonic' (God I hate that word) relationship.

I gave the classic AFC response. "Of all the women I been with, I actually had some feelings for you." Now I cringe even at the thought of having said that.

I went into rebound mode. I number-closed an HB7 today within 30 minutes - not my personal best but it was good. In the end she did most of the 'sarging' - she even ran a palm reading routine on me and negged me continually ("Look at this luck line on your palm. You're a lucky guy. Why? Because you're now with ME!").

Gotta roll with the punches. Even the most accomplished PUAs have their bad days. I am nowhere as experienced, but I will get over it.

Will be going out with the HB7 tomorrow. I am looking for the perfect, flawless, comeback sarge.

Rake

Field Report - HB7.5 (Nadia) + HB6.5 (Deepa)

2007-02-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

Date: 3 Feb 07
Time: 12pm – 1am
Venue: Laundry

An HB6.5 walked up to the bar next to Ken. She asked Ken if the seat was taken. He said no. She then ordered a jug of beer.

Never waste an opportunity to sarge.

I took the seat right behind the HB, effectively ‘trapping’ her. “You can’t move now,” I said.

She apologized profusely. “I didn’t know that this seat is taken, so sorry!”

I smiled. “You’re not alone here, are you? Where’s the rest?” I needed to size up the group so that I could figure out how to work the dynamics of the set.

“I am with two friends. Me and my girl friend will be hitting the dance floor, but we will get our guy friend to look after our drinks.”

Opportunity to neg. “Is this how you treat your guy friends? Look after your drinks while you go boogie-ing? Darn, I wouldn’t want to be part of your group!”

To which she laughed. “Neh, he’s fine.” Her jug of beer arrived.

“Get me a drink and I might look after it for you.” Yes, that was another variation of the ‘Buy Me A Drink’ routine. Principle of reciprocity here, folks.

“Er, yeah, sure.” She then poured me a glass of beer. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Deepa,” she answered. And she asked mine.

She was then joined by this Western blokey (who later we found to be French – his name was Jean) and her ‘girl friend’ Nadia, an HB7.5. Did some normal banter, after which they hit the dance floor.

After about five minutes they came back to the bar. “Sucky music,” complained Deepa.

Time to work. Did the Ring Finger routine on her and spewed out some cold reading lines.

“You’re a non-conformist, and don’t really have any respect for authority.”

She immediately lightened up. “Oh my God, you’re so right! How could you tell? I am SO anti-establishment!”

Yeah, yeah.

“From the way you dress, I could see that you’re from marketing or advertising.” She was referring to my black nails and silver rings. “That’s non-conformist – like a marketer.”

She was attempting to cold read me? Kidding. “No. I am not a marketer.”

“So what do you do then?”

“I go around sniffing people’s hair and telling what shampoo they use.”

“Try that on me.”

Normally that’s an excuse for kino, but I normally do that only for 7.5 and above. :)

“No need to even smell. You use Sunsilk.”

She totally freaked out at this point. “God, how did you know!?” Well, there’s a good chance (say, 65%) that an Indian chick would use Sunsilk so there were favorable odds to get it right. :)

Nadia was amused and asked Deepa about it. “He’s a sniffer,” she said.

We talked further for another fifteen minutes, negging and busting her balls with positive response from her every time. I figured that there won’t be any problems closing this target.

Time to move in for the close. “Hey, you’re interesting. Give me your email address.”

She turned cold. “Normally I just go out there and have fun and talk to people, but that’s about it.”

OK, that was totally unexpected, since I thought that this was the best set of the night, and she had already even bought me a drink. That was a bigger hoop than an email address. What was her problem?

I was definitely not going to get turned down by anyone that night so I had to use my trump card – the freeze-out. I immediately turned by back to her and started to talk to Nadia instead. She needed some tough love. Sorry, but that’s how the game is played.

During this time Ken was already active in the set (he was talking to Nadia), and so I ejected – as part of the freezing out of Deepa. But I knew I could go back into the set later since Ken and Strike were still in there. So I left the set, and number-closed an HB7.5 who I attempted to sarge earlier (Angel – see the other field report).

When I got back, Deepa was not there. Strike was with his date and Ken was still talking to Nadia. I walked up to the bar, pretending to retrieve my drink. I whispered to Ken, “Say you’re leaving. Ask for number.”

Deepa and Jean came back shortly and joined Nadia and Ken. Now Ken had to talk to all three instead of concentrating on Nadia.

Strike and I were not sure if Ken had already closed the deal with Nadia (but if he did, he should have ejected from the set). We had to remove Deepa and Jean so that Ken could isolate Nadia once more, and proceed to close.

Ken was getting distracted by Jean and so I had to remove him from the set. I pulled him out from the set abruptly and signaled Strike to deal with Deepa. I ran jealous girlfriend on him (yes, unbelievable) and slowly moved him further away from Ken and Nadia. Meanwhile Strike talked to Deepa in a distance.

After about ten minutes I was done with Jean – he was well isolated that I didn’t have to do anything further. But at the same time Strike had stopped talking to Deepa. Later he told that he found her to be unbearably boring.

But bro, you ain’t sarging her, you’re helping your wing to remove the obstacle.

I walked to Deepa and pulled her away from Ken and Nadia.

“OK. Last chance for you to give me your email address.”

“It’s interesting. You make it sound that you’ve got higher value and I’m begging for your attention.” God, she was speaking in PUA jargon. And she was still the same hard nut to crack even after the freeze-out.

At this time I threw everything but the kitchen sink at her. Did even more cold reading and elicited values – this time she told me about what she wanted out of life, work, usual stuff. On how she now dreaded going to work every morning, and that she would need to heed that call to do something more important in life. Well, for once I felt I could really relate to this girl.

Spent another fifteen minutes on value elicitation – her ultimate ambition was to ‘open a spiritual center so that I can make people feel good about themselves’.

Spiritual center?

“Yes. Tarot cards!” she said, beamingly. OK…

At this point Ken interrupted – I figured that he had number-closed Nadia. Time to eject from the set.

We turned back to Deepa. “Tell you something. What would you say if we tell you that we are pickup artists?”

In the last month, I had told a couple of sarges that I was actively in the pickup business and each and every one of them didn’t seem to mind AT ALL, which was super surprising to me. I had at least expected ONE of them to freak out or try to kick me in the balls, but none of them did.

“When guys talk to us, it’s the usual stuff that they talk about, you know. But you guys, it’s just…different.”

Different?

“You guys have got substance.” Amen.

Last chance to close. “You haven’t given me your email address yet.”

This time she gave it to me.

“Thanks. Who knows, I *might* email you.” I winked - one last neg for the road. But I knew that I wouldn’t.

Rake

Field Report - HB7.5 (Angel) @ Laundry

2007-02-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

Date: 3 Feb 07
Time: 11pm
Venue: Laundry

There was this HB7.5 nearby who got sarged by two guys in the time span of thirty minutes. Right under my nose.

She was with three others at the other side of the bar – another two UG5’s and a guy. But she looked bored and isolated. She dished out her mobile to text – a sure sign of boredom, and a good opportunity to approach.

The first guy (later known him as Wong) was also on the bar with another buddy of his (Lee) next to our group, and was seated on the right of the HB7.5. Couldn’t hear what he was telling the girl – after about five minutes she was on her own again.

She was then approached by this other guy who managed to do all the wrong things –

1. He approached the two girls from the back. Don't surprise them, brother.
2. He lingered on far too long. Where’s the scarcity?
3. He bought the girls drinks. Supplication.

Talked to Strike and we laid out our gameplan. I was already using his date as social proof (she was on my left) while I asked him to open up Wong and Lee (my right) so that I could forward merge the group. As Wong had already opened the HB so I could then use him to bridge to her.

It went ahead as planned. Strike did a fabulous job on opening Wong and Lee, which helped me to build a rapport with the guys. Usual stuff on work, parties and what not, but I ensure that HB7.5 feels my energy level, hears what I say and see me as the AMOG. Ignored her completely while I build bigger social proof around her.

I then waited. If needed, I would use my pivot, but I was bidding my time.

Soon enough she made a move. She lifted her Heineken and gestured to Wong, Lee and myself (we were in a group now). I shouted at her that I didn’t have a drink. (I had limited my drink that night to a JD Coke. Supplementary tip – Guys, you don’t need liquid courage to do this. Lay off the alcohol and you’ll do far better than when pissed outta your brain.)

She looked surprised, and shouted back, “WHY!?” I shrugged, and then gestured her to pass me her drink instead. Could have gone for my (patented?) ‘Buy Me A Drink’ routine but she was too far to hear me. I could have walked over, but I couldn’t risk supplicating to her frame as I have not DHV-ed enough to build attraction.

She gestured to offer me her drink, and that she would allow me only one sip off the bottle. IOI.

I leaned over, grabbed the bottle and took a gulp. Mocked the taste, and then took another sip. She laughed. Another IOI. Delivered my ‘Party Name vs Real Name’ line – she introduced herself as Angel.

The ‘other guy’ noticed that I was trying to steal his set, and acted promptly. He number closed her (kudos bro), and gave her his namecard. Then the group (Angel and her three friends) left the bar for the dance floor.

Darn.

Later when I was sarging this two-set I initiated a freeze-out on one of them (see the next field report). While I was making my way to the men’s room, I bumped into Angel again. She was on her own, texting on her mobile near the entrance of the bar. Re-approached her again - this time she was already isolated so I could at last run game.

She spoke with this accent and her English was not exactly very strong. From experience, I had found that could either make it much easier (being articulate in English is a strong DHV to some) or much harder (no communication = no game).

“Angel, tell me your full name.”

Alright guys, that’s only that much of canned material I had before running out. Bad that I had to resort to boring small talk, but I had passed the Attraction phase, and was then going into Comfort.

“I got very unique surname. Only one in this world.”

“Oh yeah, mine too!”

“Mine is Sumong.”

“Angel Sumong?”

“Yes. You?”

“Huo. As in Huo Yianjia, the ancient kungfu master.”

She gave me a friendly punch in the arm.

“Hey, why did you do that? Did he beat your ancestors up or something?”

She laughed. "It's so special that I am going to remember it for the rest of my life."

I tried to run the Ring Finger routine on her, and asked her if she wore any rings. She took that as an enquiry on her marital status. Darn, a DLV.

She rolled her eyes and said, “I’m not married.”

“No,” I replied, “you could tell a lot from which finger a person wears her rings. But since you’re not wearing any…nevermind then.” There goes that routine. And to think that it went really well with Deepa.

She then held my hand and peered closely at my silver rings and black nails. She had this confused look on her face.

“You cheat girls,” she remarked. Huh? “Black nails and silver rings.” Maybe what she meant was that I was dressed with accessories that made me look like a player.

I didn’t know what to say to her but I took that as an IOI. If I calibrated correctly, I should be number closing (or more?) by just playing along. No more canned stuff, just usual comfort-building conversation.

I was ready to number-close when the ‘Other Guy’ who sarged her earlier suddenly appeared. Oh boy, I thought, and I braced myself for his AMOGing tactics.

“Angel, I am going to the toilet now,” he whimpered at her and swiftly walked away, without looking at me.

Sorry buddy, I gotta jump at that. “So does he do that every time? Ask for your permission to go to the men’s room?” She laughed.

“Look, I am going off now. Give me your number.”

She dished out her phone and gave me a missed call. She then grabbed my phone and punched in another number. Strangely, she seemed to know how to use my phone better than me.

I then made my way back to the two-set – I needed to at least email close the other HB, and I would be a happy man.

Rake

Field Report - Pair of HB8's (Abigail + Ee Ching)

2007-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

Date: 3 Feb 07
Time: 10.15pm – 10.45pm
Venue: Laundry

This was a group of six girls – a pair of HB8’s (alphas in the group) with their entourage of UGs. The HB8’s clearly dominated in the group, but one of them (the slightly prettier one) seemed restless and gave me some IOIs. Our eyes met for second, and again a couple of minutes later.

But I didn’t approach.

I had violated the 3-second rule. So the theory goes, the targets would be too spooked now if you decide to approach and would get their bitch shields up even before you could open your mouth to spout out your lines. Worse, you’ve over-analyzed so much that it’s impossible to deliver your canned openers AND be congruent.

I didn’t take the shot, and I hated it.

Ken arrived and I immediately tried to push him into the set. But we still didn’t make a move. We went into this debate on whether to go or not to go – the usual rationalization that we make on NOT approaching.

Fifteen minutes later, the other four UG cockblocks had left the group with the remaining HB8’s incessantly chatting. Ken was nowhere to be seen while Strike was busy gaming his mid-game sarge. I was alone.

So what now, Rake? Can’t even do a simple approach now?

Use it or lose it. Walked over, with Style’s Jealous Girlfriend opener which I had battle-tested in the field many times over, which had never, ever failed me.

“Hey, guys, I need a favor, but I only got a minute before I go back to my friends. You see the couple on the bar?”

They were intrigued, and looked over me to see who I was talking about. “No, stop looking! The guy is actually my good buddy, and I am supposed to advise him on this situation that he is in. But I need a woman’s perspective.”

I leaned back. Be congruent, Rake. Women could sniff a fake miles away.

Delivered the opener, and opened a floodgate of opinion. Thank you, Style. “She’s a psychotic woman!” “He should dump those things – after all it’s over”, yada yada. I just sat back and listened.

Soon after Ken appeared and he came into the set. Introduced him as the ‘guy with the problem’ and effectively set him up for DHV.

They introduced themselves as Abigail (my target – the slightly prettier one) and Ee Ching – both barely finished high school and were going to start college. Soon, they were ripe for negs - “Hey, are you guys legal yet? How did they even let you in here?” “Are all women that psychotic?” etc etc. What we missed were false disqualifiers even though I had set one up nicely but didn’t follow through (“I make it a point not to date anyone within one year from their previous relationship” – to which Abigail agreed – I would have preferred her to disagree so that I would amp it up and neg her).

Couple of DHVs (I correctly guessed Ee Ching’s sister name to be Ee Ling. It was partly a lucky guess – but they were surprised nevertheless) and soon we were talking like old friends. Their entourage of four UGs came back and introduced themselves (can’t even remember their names, sorry), but we couldn’t bridge the set to involve the others in the interaction. Which was a mistake.

Ee Ching’s sister (Ee Ling) came around and immediately we lost the frame. At this point the other four girls are already bored outta their minds and so they were glad that her sister came around and gave their attention to her. We then left the set.

As I was walking away I realized that I didn’t close. Fuck.

Five minutes later, they were preparing to leave. I waited for Abigail to look over. Predictably she did, and I waved for her to come over.

“Do you have an email address?” I asked. I didn’t even qualify her and put a false time constraint – she was already leaving so that was irrelevant. She gave her email.

Now on the debate on email close vs phone close. I subscribe to David Deangelo’s belief that email close is more effective than phone close as far as setting up of Day 2’s are concerned. Less flakey, smaller hoop to jump over, more time to build more comfort (over emails). Unless their buying temperature is pumped enough during the interaction, I almost never go for number close as default.

Read David Deangelo’s original post archived at mASF (as sisonpyh) on this which formed the basis for his DYD stuff – totally mind-bending stuff.

Rake

Field Report - 3 February 07 @ Laundry Bar

2007-02-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Date: 3 Feb 07
Time: 9.30pm – 1am
Venue: Laundry

It was the first time when I sarged with two wings in tow – Strike and Ken. It was a totally new level of game with three in the team – there’s many possibilities and ‘social configurations’ that you have at your disposable. Distract a cockblock? Check. Demonstrate social proof? Check. Disarm an AMOG? Check. All you need to do is to focus on isolating, interacting and closing. Leave the obstacles to your wings.

Strike brought with him his mid-game sarge, an HB who later turned out to be a perfect pivot. Later we were joined by another two of his friends. As we built more social proof with a bigger group (and merging with newly opened sets), it got progressively easier. I have stopped counting the approach invitations coming left, right and center after opening (and closing) our third set.

The sets were –

1. Two HB8s (Abigail and Ee Ching) aged 19 (possibly the youngest I ever sarged) who were later joined by their entourage of another 4 HBs. Email-closed the HB8.1.

2. Pair of HB7.5 (Nadia) + HB6.5 (Deepa) with a cockblock. The set where we had to ‘attack’ with all three of us in the set with each of us either disarming an obstacle or attempting to close. Number-closed the 6.5 and got a free drink out of her – always the icing on the cake.  Ken number-closed the 7.5.

3. HB7.5 (Angel). Possibly my ‘fastest’ sarge where I number-closed with less than 3 minutes of interaction.

Detailed field reports to follow.

Quick points

1. The ‘moment of truth’ when faced with the (daunting) idea of opening a set.
The heart pounds, the brain starts racking up reasons NOT to open, the palms sweat. Before the brain starts to rationalize, just go there and fucking OPEN. Worship at the altar of the 3 second rule, boy.

2. Learning any new set of skills requires MOMENTUM.
If you manage to email, number, kiss or full close on your first day in the field, then more power to you. But for the rest of us, we build on minor successes and get better that way.

Often, the ‘high’ of number-closing an HB9.5 a week ago would slowly dissipate into thin air if you don’t build on the momentum to open (and close) more sets. USE IT OR LOSE IT.

Rake

Field Report : Mothers, Single Sets, And Fool's Mate

2007-01-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Date: 13 January 2007
Venue: Laundry, Cafe Flam
Time: 8.30pm - 1.30am

Quick field reports:

1. HB9 - She was easily the tallest girl I sarged - you all know I have a particular sweet spot for lanky girls. :) It was a warmup set in Borders where I asked for book recommendations - which then progressed into a nice conversation of best friends, magazine subscriptions and birthdays (I was running multiple threads). Somehow didn't close, but it was good warmup.

2. HB7.5 and (hardly) HB5 - our warmup set which ended up being the best of the night. Olivia L, the HB7.5, later I found to be a mother of two, and Ashley F, another lady probably in her late 30's. Olivia had a strong frame but I wrestled from her with DHVs and subtle negs. She immediately saw my black nails, grabbed my hand and remarked excitedly to Ashley.

Later we re-approached the set (with the intention of bridging into the next group of two HB8s), but Olivia immediately sucked me into her frame. Spent another 15 minutes bridging into other topics ("Would you believe it if I tell you that I am a pickup artist?"). In the end she bought me a Heineken, after which I ejected from the set.

3. HB6 - a classic case of fool's mate. She was at a nearby table with her group of eight friends, but she gave multiple IOIs in my direction so I had to sarge her. I decided to short-circuit the system and tried to isolate her immediately without building attraction and comfort. :) I just waved at her to come to me. She was totally surprised, but she came over nonetheless.

Ran some negs and my (trademarked!) party name routine (her name was Coreen) - but her comfort level was still way too low (which was totally expected as I didn't do the groundwork). She asked for my name, to which I answered "Black Nails" and showed her. That was the dealbreaker - she looked so frightened and promptly fled my group.

If there's one lesson that I need to learn it is that the game is played in comfort. Sticking point - ESCALATION.

4. Pair of HB8's who came to the bar. Used the "Buy me a drink" opener, which predictably turned into "Why don't YOU buy us drinks instead?". I then qualified them by asking, "Give me three reasons I should buy you guys drinks." To which they mumbled something about not having money, we are poor, yada yada yada. The last thing I expected from HB8s is to DLV themselves - I couldn't think of an appropriate response and the set left.

5. HB7.5 single set. I've never seen so much ASD in my entire (short) sarging career that I couldn't get past opener stage. When she doesn't listen, you can't game. My biggest sticking point so far.

6. HB6.5 + boyfriend. Admittedly, I was more into AMOGing than sarging the HB. Poor chappie had to isolate her girlfriend after me and my wing violated their space and dominated the group. But he didn't know that he 'was' my target and after I ran a few AMOGing routines he was left speechless in his seat.

Sticking points:

1. Opening single sets in the club / bar. The incredulous amount of ASD and autopilot responses makes this a real sticking point. When you approach a single set, you're automatically in the lower value frame. My wing is fairly confident in approaching mixed sets now - which we found to be WAY easier than single sets.

2. Club game. The need to project voice ABOVE the noise level, and the amplified importance of social proof. In order to do well in clubs you will definitely need your arsenal of pivots and pawns even to get past the opener.

3. Opening sets in Malay and Chinese. Much of our openings which didn't work happened to be sets who could not converse well enough in English to understand (and appropriately respond) to negs and qualifiers.

Rake

Reluctant Sarge Report II

2007-01-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

Today the 'Reluctant Sarge' went into damage zone.

She has got a boyfriend, and asked me what I thought of 'cheating'. And she wanted to clarify where our relationship was heading. The usual red flags.

Now as my comrades in the seduction community would say, EJECT! However she was someone that I would see regularly even after endgame so I had to let her down gently. If she was someone I met in a club then it could be a totally different story.

I told her that she was firmly in the friend zone, and everything I did, well, was all planned as a 'social experiment'. She listened to my story calmly.

The sad (and cold) fact is that in the Game, the person who gives you validation in the first place could easily take that away from you. That is a subtle but crucial point where you either gain or lose control of the frame.

She asked, "You know, what goes around comes around. Aren't you afraid?"

I told her that everyone's responsible for their own feelings - and I can't blame anyone for making me feel happy or sad.

She then asked, "Then why are you telling me all this then? To make me feel better? Why would you care?"

That question really got me stumped.

Or maybe I did care. But I didn't say it.

On some targets you could just desensitize yourself from the whole interaction, and run your negs and escalate like a robot, and then number close, kiss close, fuck close, whatever. But there are some others, well, who tend to tug your heartstrings a little bit.

This reminded me of a particular sarge (about half a year back) where I had done so much kino on her that I stopped escalating when she suddenly looked at me straight in the eye. She looked so vulnerable that I decided to stop. (Now I was no saint - far from it - right after that I location-bounced to another area at the bar and number-closed an HB7).

'Reluctant Sarge' clearly belonged to the other type.

Later that night she smsed, "I hope you rediscover old-fashioned romance one day and enjoy those rollercoaster rides" (sic).

I replied, "I'd like to, but it looks unlikely."

It's like taking a bite off the forbidden fruit off the tree of knowledge. Your eyes are opened. As much as I would like to unlearn the things that I learned, I couldn't. When I talk to a girl, all I think is Bait, Hook, Reel, Release.

Now there's this HB8.5 I met elsewhere regularly who has been giving me strong IOIs that I could open any time I wanted. Now this episode with the 'Reluctant Sarge' really made me doubt if I could really leave them better than when I found them.

If I couldn't, for better or for worse, I should just then stop for good.

Field Report - HB7 @ Bangkok 1005

2007-01-04T05:07:00.000-08:00

Day: 16 Dec 2005
Time: 11pm
Venue: Hard Rock Cafe, Bangkok

When Lek left with her two friends, I was ready to leave. I walked back to my seat to fetch my backpack.

A Thai girl took my seat while I was gaming Lek. She smiled. Quick size-up. 1. On her own. 2. Positive IOI. 3. HB7. About Lek’s height but appeared to be even more petite.

I opened the set with a neg.
“Excuse me, why are you stepping on my bag?” I pretended that I was annoyed.
“Oh, oh, sorry!” She jumped off the seat.
I smiled. “Nevermind. Thank you for taking care of my bag.”
She grinned.
“English?”

She shook her head. Gave me this doggie dinner bowl look. At this point I realized that by speaking English it was a sufficient DHV. But how to Game her when she could not understand a word I say? SS patterns were out of the question, even.

Then I realized that I had built enough social proof with Lek that I had effectively DHV-ed.

Fuck routines. I'd move in with kino.

“I don't understand what you say, but I want to know more about you.” I said.
She smiled. I took it that she understood what I had said.
I gently held her palm, and said, “I can tell what type of a person you are by just looking at your palm.”
“Ah!” She looked really interested.

I kino-ed her by caressing her palm and pressing her thumbs. Spewed out some cold-reading BS such as, “You are a social person, but sometimes you like to be alone.” I knew she could not understand jack shit about the things I said, but I said it with such conviction that she probably thought that I was the real deal. She was lapping it all up.

Establish comfort. Phase-shift.

I was asking her questions in English and she would reply in Thai. Funny thing was that we pretended we could understand each other. Each time I sensed that she was telling a joke I would mock laughter. She was getting more comfortable by the minute.

It was only a matter of time when she asked the Inevitable Question.
“Hotel?”
Sorry, my no-f-close policy was still in enforcement.

So I was going to tell her that I was staying in a backpacker shithole…and then I thought of turning that up a notch.
“I am homeless.”
“Huh?”
“Home? No. No home.”
Just like Lek, she had a disapproving look on her face. I almost laughed out loud. This was becoming a little too predictable.
“Look at my bag?" I pointed at my backpack. " I have no home. I sleep on the streets.”

As expected, it was an instant turn-off. She sat back down at her seat, facing away from me.

I didn’t close, so I could not let it end so abruptly.

I turned to face her. She had this cold look on her face. OK, next round of neg and kino. Fracteration, as Ross J would call it.

Stroked parts of her hair. She looked at me blankly.
Sniffed parts of her long flowing locks.
“Do you ever use a shampoo?” I negged her, giving her a mock, disgusted look. The classic DeAngelo C&F tactic - two steps forward, one step back.
She was taken aback, and gave her hair a sniff herself. "No smell?" she said.
I continued stroking her hair. Sniffed the top of her head this time.
“Hmm…this part smells good. What, you only wash the top of your head?”
She laughed and slapped my arm. She was brightening up.
Continued stroking her hair. DeAngelo’s Kiss Test. Triangular Gaze. She was ready.
Kiss-closed.

“Number?” I could have run another number routine, but since I got the order screwed up (number-close, then kiss-close, then whatever else, folks), I thought I'd just ask directly.
She produced a pen from her handbag, and scribbled her number on a piece of tissue. I gave her a namecard.
“Nice meeting you, Nid. I will call.” Even though I knew I would not.
She smiled. Gave her another peck on the cheek, grabbed my backpack and bid her farewell.

Field Report - HB7.5 @ Bangkok 2005

2007-01-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

This was posted in my other blog detailing my adventures in Bangkok end of 2005. I am adding these here so that I have got all my field reports at one place. :)

Date: 16 Dec 1005
Time: 9pm
Venue: Hard Rock Cafe, Bangkok

I was standing outside Hard Rock Cafe in Siam Square. I had heard some live music emanating from that pub while eating noodles at a nearby restaurant. I had to check it out. I needed my fix of heavy music pretty badly.

I was still in my gym wear – dirty and haggard looking. I had a backpack. The bouncer gave me an eyeful while I departed with 200 baht for the cover. “Check bag,” he sneered. Reluctantly, I handed my bag over. He rummaged through my dirty laundry and all, and found my mineral water bottle. “No outside drink,” he sniggered. “OK, take the bottle if you like.” I grabbed my bag from him and walked into the pub.

The place was crowded, perhaps unusually so for a Thursday evening. Mix of farangs and locals, many of them the Thai version of SPGs. The band was playing something familiar. Red Hot Chill Peppers. Not another covers band, I groaned.

I walked to the bar near the stage. I ordered a shot of Black Label and minded my own business. The band kept playing cover after cover (the ‘crowd pleasers’ – Creed, GNR, Bon Jovi). I slowly resigned to the fact that I would probably never get to watch an authentic Thai indie band.

The lady was sitting in front of me suddenly turned over.

“Thai gibberish.”
“Huh?” I was completely taken by surprise.
“Not from here? Speak English?”
“Er, yes.”
She smiled. “So…what you’re here for? Business or holiday?”
My scam alert alarm bells were ringing, so I was extra careful. I looked around for possible ‘accomplices’; you know the deal – con artists normally worked in groups.

“Why are you here in Thailand?” she pressed for an answer. She smiled.
“To find myself. I lost myself along the way, so I thought I could find myself here.”
She stared at me blankly. OK lah, I just felt like taking the piss.
“So what’s your name?”
I told her, and asked for hers.
“Lek.”
“Huh?”
“L.E.K.”

Something I noticed about Thais was that they NEVER use their given names. I thought that was quite understandable, since they often sounded like Cantonese swears (I knew a Thai who went by the name Tachamachauhai, I kid you not).

“Surely that’s not your real name?” I asked.
“Of course not.”

She dished out her Visa card and pointed to the name printed on the card. True enough, it was some tongue-twister Thai name which I could not even remember now.

Sarging was never on the agenda. But as my seduction comrades would say, never waste an opportunity in the field. She had already opened up the set, and her ASD was already down. It could not get any easier.

I sized her up. Slim, and probably just a little taller than Tinky. HB7.5. She came with two friends, who seemed to be quite detached from her. She was already isolated from her group.

Yes-Ladder? The Cube? Sniper Neg? I was stacking up routines in my mind.

Decided to go with the neg. I pointed at her pint of beer. “You drink beer from a straw? Eww!” I mocked disgusted look on my face.
She looked puzzled. “Huh?”
“Isn’t that horrible? To sip beer from a straw?”
She offered her beer. “Try it.”
I sipped, and pretended that I was choking from it. She giggled.

Neg number two. “You know, you’re getting a beer belly from too much Singha.”
“”Really?” She looked down at her flat tummy.
Yes, folks, that line was just an excuse for kino. I touched the side of her abdomen. She giggled. “There. It tickles, so that’s excess meat.” She laughed.
She pinched my stomach. “No fat!” she remarked.
She was playing the Game well.

The band played louder and louder, so we had to move closer to each other. Had a few alternating rounds of negs and kino in between after that. We were getting comfy.
“Are you married?” she asked.
“Huh? No.” I answered.
Then I pointed at her ring on her left hand. “So, I take it that you are?” (OK, thinking back, this stunk of AFC-ness, I know. Who gave a rat's ass if she was married?)

“No, no”, she said. “In Thailand, Left hand ring means friend. If married, wear on right hand.”

She moved closer. I could smell her jasmine scent at the ‘sweet spot’ – the area right below a woman’s ear.
“Which hotel?” she asked.
“Khao San.”
“Huh?” she looked puzzled.
“Khao. As in, ‘rice’.” I explained.
“Ahh…Khao San!”
“Yeah. The backpackers place.”

The smile on her face disappeared. She was leaning away from me.

“Why Khao San?” she asked, seemed puzzled.
I had wanted to say, “Because that place is full of detached, restless souls just like me.” But instead, I offered a ‘safe’ answer this time.
“Because I wanted to meet fellow backpackers there.”
“Khao San Road, too many farangs. I don’t like them. I can talk to them, but cannot be too friendly.” She had this disgusted look on her face. “Khao San is no good.”

One rule of the pickup game is that a girl can fall out of love with you as quickly as fall in love with you. I could have said, “Hotel? Anywhere you want, baby”, but I was not seeking to f-close so I didn’t.
“Too bad then,” I said.

We stopped talking. She turned back to face her two friends.

About 10 mins after that, she turned to me again. “Want to go for supper?” She smiled.
I really didn’t feel like it, so I said no.
“You got number? I am going to Singapore next month. Maybe call you.”
I gave her my digits. But I didn’t ask for hers.

She seemed nice. Until I mentioned Khao San, that is.

Field Report: HB7.5

2006-12-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

Date: 31 Dec 06
Time: 10.30pm - 1am
Location: Laundry

I have done enough kino escalation in the timespan of two hours that anything further would naturally lead to f-close. Now that is absolutely NOT the reason I am in the Game, no naturally I didn’t know exactly how to end it. Kiss close? Too easy.

Deep down I still think that something fundamentally wrong with, “I have a boyfriend, but what’s the harm of having an occasional fling?” She’s obviously not someone that I would even want to see on a regular basis (I juggled between five women in my life at one point), so why was I wasting time with her?

In addition, I don’t have any particular tendency to employ Ross Jeffries’ Boyfriend Destroyer Routines or even the October Man sequence. (My interest in the latter, as they say, is purely academic :) )

While this has been somehow of a cliché in the community, I truly believe that we should leave them better off than when we start. I am not in the game to mess with anyone’s emotional circuitry just to gain social validation.

My faithful wing remarked in frustration, “Look at all the IOIs! You could have f-close her man, what were you thinking??”

So what I got out of her then? Well, a couple of free drinks. :)

Now before you balk at that remark, no, it’s not about me being cheapskate and not willing to pay for my own drinks. It’s about the PUA philosophy of going against the grain.

It goes against the ‘conventional wisdom’ that guys having to bribe women for company – buy them drinks, buy them flowers, seek their approval.

How many guys can claim that they had a night out with beautiful women buying them drinks? At the risk of sounding like the AFC I was two years ago, it’s a personal bragging right. =)

Field Report: Red Nails

2006-12-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

Date: 30 Dec 06
Time: 10.15pm
Location: Laundry

The three set was then joined by four of their friends. One of them was an HB8, and she was with her boyfriend. Now that I had earned the social proof from their friends, I figured that we could open up this set pretty easily.

Latch on Eric and Kim, re-run the Jealous Girlfriend opener, neg the HB8, get my wing to distract the boyfriend, bridge, location-bounce, elicit values, number-close.

It ran through my head like an algorithm.

It turned out that I didn’t even had to open up the set. She came to the bar to order some drinks, and she was just next to me.

I opened. “Are you buying me a drink?” I asked.

Predictably she was taken aback by this request, but was more surprised (than offended) by the absurdness of the idea. I was in.

She had some vermillion nails so I negged her about it. “I don’t know your name, but I am going to call you Red Nails.” She laughed. I was not peacocked, but I showed her the ‘remnants’ from my black nail polish and she seemed impressed.

She said, “Sure, I could get you a drink. How about some ice water with lemon to top it up?” I DLV-ed, “No, I have had ENOUGH lemons for the night, trust me!” She laughed at that.

Demonstrate social proof. “I talked to your friends, and they seemed cool. Eric is really funny.”

She looked surprised. “Eric who!?”

I pointed to ‘Eric’. I had no idea that it was not his real name. I shouted at him, “Hey, you’re Eric, right?”

‘Eric’ just smiled sheepishly. “I know him as Yeoh,” she said. “What Eric!?”

“Funny how people have a party name, and another name you use in ‘real’ life,” I remarked.

“Yeah”, she agreed, “My name is Yvonne. What is your name?” IOI. Check.

“Black Nails. And my party name is Deric.” She laughed at that. Check. Another IOI, and technically I could number-close.

“So what do you do?”

Totally flip the question over, or answer something incredulous.

“I go around smelling people’s hair and then guessing what shampoo they use.”

She laughed. At this point I could sniff at her hair and go into Style’s Evolutionary Phase Shift routine but I suppose her boyfriend (about a meter away) would not be too happy.

“So what do you do then?” I asked.

“I just bum around. Er, no, I am a doctor.”

Just stopped short of self-qualification. Time to DHV. “You know, dentists have the highest suicide rate in this world.”

“Why is that so?”

“I don’t know, maybe because they look into dark, smelly holes everyday.” I smiled.

She smiled back. “All right, tell you what, I will buy you a drink. What do you want?”

I asked for a Heineken.

I could have launched the ‘compare phones’ routine to get the digits off her, but no lah, there’s only that far you can go.

But hey, I did get a free drink off an HB8. Even the bartender was amused.

Field Report: Three Set

2006-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

Date: 30 Dec 06
Time: 10.00pm
Location: Laundry

The three-set (AMOG + HB7 + HB6) was relatively easier to open. They were at the table next to the bar and around 10pm, the place was ‘quiet’ enough to run routines.

Approached the group with the same opener, but this time with a False Time Constraint and a stronger root (“you see my friend there – we are having this argument and we needed to settle it once and for all”). The set was more receptive compared to the previous.

Their names were Eric, Celine (HB7), Kim (HB6). Soon enough it appeared that the alpha was Kim rather than Eric, and she was the most animated of the lot - “why throw them away? He should show her who’s the boss!”

I had to then turn my attention to Kim, because of two things – (1) she was dominating the group, and (2) she’s the pawn as obviously I had to target Celine, being the prettier one. I had negged her (Celine as in Celine Dion? Yodel for me, baby!”) but she was too shy to even respond.

Another good warm-up, but obviously we were not getting anywhere. We had at this point built enough social proof, but I had wanted action. Fast.

Field Report: Two Set (A Couple)

2006-12-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

Date: 30 Dec 06
Time: 9.30pm
Location: Laundry

My wingman was eyeing this couple on the other side of the bar. Being his faithful wing, I went over and opened the set with the same Jealous Girlfriend opener – approaching the guy first, of course.

He was a true AMOG, but his date was getting turned off while he rattled his idea of ‘packing up the ex stuff, pretending to throw them away, but keep it in the store’. His girlfriend seemed to be revolted with that idea.

My wing then came over after a couple of minutes but before I could isolate the guy. Mistake. He managed to (brilliantly) bridge by asking for a ‘female opinion’ instead to open up the target, but the guy turned to him to talk instead of letting the target answer him. I could have AMOGged him but he had a strong frame so I couldn’t distract him well enough to give chances to my wing to isolate the target properly.

It was a good warm-up set, and gave us the social proof to work on for the rest of the night.

Field Report: Cigarette Girl

2006-12-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

Date: 30 Dec 06
Time: 9.15pm
Location: Laundry

There’s this thing about hired guns – they are paid to be nice to you, so you gotta watch for false IOIs.

Solution – disqualify them early (and often enough).

So there was this girl selling Camel cigarettes who approached me and my wing, trying to make a quick buck.

I opened by disqualifying her, “No, we will not buy anything from you, but let me get a quick opinion off you.” I then used Style’s Jealous Girlfriend opener. [To the uninitiated - http://www.bristollair.com/outer-game/routines/openers/jealous-girlfriend.html]

She looked at me blankly, and said, “Past tense. Don’t matter. She is past tense.” She was moving away from me. OK, didn’t work.

Then I realized that the problem was that she could not really speak English. But then again, sometimes that doesn’t matter, when you have done enough DHVs you don’t need any material or routines (found that out during my Bangkok sarging days). Obviously I have not conveyed enough value that early in the set, and so I was struggling.

I then switched the routine to Cantonese, but it was too late. “Sorry, need to go sell cigarettes,” she said, and went off.

The Reluctant Sarge Report

2006-12-30T20:31:00.000-08:00

Date: 30 Dec 06
Time: 4pm
Location: Starbucks, The Curve

I hate Day 2’s.

When you have done enough DHVs and solicited IOIs then naturally you have to escalate. But that’s what I have NOT done with this particular HB7.5.

Until I was doing a ‘casual’ revision of the handbook and read about how this chappie failed to bridge from attraction to comfort. He was already in the game, but failed to calibrate. He was negging his target until the point of being obnoxious.

I was running through enough disqualifiers (“you’re too young for me”, “I’m married”, “I am gay”, “you’re not my type, sorry”) that any PUA would have screamed ‘BRIDGE!’. I was operating from the Prizability frame (credit: Swinggcat) and it flowed naturally from there. But my interest level was well going down the drain because she was predictably showing the usual IOIs. Boring.

Until she casually mentioned about her ‘boyfriend’. And that was the turning point of this particular episode.

I don’t look beyond more than a k-close so don’t get me wrong, guys. Also, I never make it a point to seek out attached targets. But this was a good opportunity to validate what Mystery had said about attached women – they would cheat at the drop of a hat if your game is tight.

It has been more than a month since the first date, and she had perhaps been unsuccessfully on her part to bridge to Day 2. (Flakey, flakey me) Upon the realization of my mistake (you gotta reward ‘em for good behaviour once in a while, boy), I had set up a meeting at Laundry on a Saturday night.

It would be the first time I went back on the field (no, the time in Poppy during Christmas didn’t count – I was totally drown out by the noise and chaos, and as Mystery said – if you can’t talk, you can’t Game), so I dutifully re-read VAH from cover to cover. And then something hit me.

Social proof. Will need to build that fast right before she arrives.

Three Golden Rules from The Apprentice

2006-05-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

1. Keep it simple.
The first golden rule of becoming successful in business is keeping it simple. Bigger is not necessarily better. For illustrative purposes, let's take a look at a past episode of The Apprentice. The teams were told they had to create a campaign to generate the most customer phone calls to a Shania Twain perfume hotline. One team hired people to wear sandwich boards and advertise the campaign by word-of-mouth, while the other team thought outside the box, plastering Shania Twain posters all over horse and buggy carriages, ultimately experiencing a shameful defeat.

2. Research, research, research.
Going into a presentation or writing a report without doing the proper research is on par with crossing the street blindfolded -- you're simply screwed. Apprentice teams who missed out on executive interviews for marketing tasks usually ended up suffering humiliating losses ( la Capital Edge's loss after skipping an interview with executives for a Star Wars campaign).

3. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Most jobs will leave you miserable and nice guys definitely finish last. Let's apply this idea to the ever-so-compelling Apprentice. Remember that episode when Excel stole the megaphones from Capital Edge, destroying their competitor's campaign? While many of us with a conscience wouldn't even fathom the idea of stealing to win, these contestants didn't think twice. The outcome of this devilishly sly act? A congratulatory pat on the head by none other than Donald Trump himself, along with a landslide victory.

Source: AskMen

One Last Rep

2006-05-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a report on Style's Annihilation Method. As with any 'free report', you don't get anything particularly useful - it's merely an enticement to part with your cash to get the real thing.

Nevertheless, there is a quote in the report that struck me. Apparently Arnie Schwarzenegger had said,

"This last two or three or four repetitions, that's what makes the muscles grow. That's what divides one from a champion and one from not being a champion.

"If you can go through the pain period, you make it to be a champion. If you can't go through it, forget it. And that's what most people lack: having the guts - the guts to go in and just say... "I don't care what happens."

I have no fear of fainting in the gym... I threw up many times when I was working out. But it doesn't matter, because it's all worth it."

When you do bicep curls, it's that One Last Rep that matters. It's that short final mile that makes all the fucking difference.

Transformation.

2006-04-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Inspired by what we have seen, read and heard, we are now attempting (and documenting) our own transformation.

Welcome. It's game.