Finally getting around to posting one of these, after doing approaches for a couple weeks.

Location: Tahoe casino/bar
1. Target: ???
Description: After seeing a friend do this, I decided to break my approach down really simple, and just point out what girls were wearing. I walked up to an HB7 on the way to the bathroom and said offhandedly, with a smile "You're wearing white pants."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, they're not allowed in this bar"

This led to a ten-minute flirtatious bullshit back-and-forth that was pretty fun. She was definitely down with it, giving good body language. I kept wanting to switch modes, though, and move it past the banter, but wasn't sure how or when to do it. Eventually, her man (I guess) walked out of the bathroom, and she walked away with him, but sort of smiled at me flirtatiously. I left it there, and just felt good about the approach.

What I learned: 1. It doesn't matter what you say (white pants? really?), it's how you say it. If they think you're worth talking to, they'll play along.
2. Still, I need to find a way to roll past the banter opener.
3. Sometimes there are boyfriends or whatever, lurking out of sight.



Target: Joana
Description: Not really a cold opener. My friend was talking to a pair of cute girls who were from Brazil. I went over and introduced myself and bantered with the target, an HB7 with a great body. Walked away after a few minutes when the conversation died. Saw her a few minutes later talking with some friends at a bank of slot machines. I went over and sat down next to her, and started a conversation with her, using her name. She was not initially interested, but I was sorta persistent, and she turned and faced me. We started talking about how she just moved to the city and was a grad student, and I was being genuine, and rapport was getting good. She was leaning in, and we were having a genuine connection. Sweet.

All of a sudden, we were approached by a couple (man and woman). The woman said she wanted to use the slot machine that I was sitting at, and asked if I would mind getting up. There were literally hundreds of empty slot machines around. I got really annoyed. Instead of playing it cool, I looked at her and said, "really?", all in disbelief. She said yes, that she needed to play this one. So I got up and let her play. Then she started talking to the target, making it clear that they were friends. I said a word or two more to the target, but clearly, rapport was broken, and I looked like a dick.

SO, what did I learn?
1. It's okay to be a bit persistent in starting a conversation with a girl, even if she is talking to some friends. Don't eject at the first sign of disinterest.
2. I need to roll with the punches. Like in improv class, "say yes to everything." When those people asked me to move, I could've handled it better, been gracious, and come back to the girl.
3. Don't get drunk and do pickup. Seriously, one or two drinks is okay, but I was like six deep. If I were sober, I would've handled that much better. Alcohol-->cognitive rigidity. Not good.