The parallels between picking up women and short-handed no limit hold’em are solid, right down to the strange commonality that both pickup artists and poker players like to use pseudonyms that are abstract pronouns, which is a little disturbing. Picking up women is a game of very high stakes that takes multiple stages of planning, adaptation, and action, as evidenced by the VH1 reality show, The Pickup Artist.
Picking up hot women
Perhaps the most significant commonality is that both environments necessitate action; idle passivity is bad form and yields terrible results. Both are games of quantity, where you will ideally be exposed to a lot of action by the end of your session. Both are best played when your personal image is optimized - whether that means wearing a nice outfit or entering a table with 100 big blinds.
Introductions
The hardest part, for a lot of men, is introducing themselves, cold. It’s a whole process and a subtle exchange that is supposed to at once convey that you’re interested but not invested, as well as making yourself come off as someone worth getting to know. This awkward stage is best equated to pre-flop play. And just like there are good strategies in pick-up, there are good strategies in short-handed play.
Be Aggressive
Either open the action or fold (outside of blinds). You can raise anything you would raise in a full game, as well as mixing in pocket pairs and suited connectors.
Beware The Second Best
Hands that aren’t premium, like A-10 and K-J, are probably going to win you a small pot—or else lose a big one.
When The Stakes Are High
Hands like those mentioned in the first point can stand a re-raise, because you can generally dominate a board if you hit well enough, but those hands in the second point are vulnerable to high pairs and simply being dominated. Take a lot of flops, but with discretion.
Taking It To The Next Phase
While it’s certainly important to get the openers and introductions down, the real payoff comes after you’ve committed yourself to the interaction. In the same way, so much of the short-handed game is played after the flop and it is wise to be ready for the nuances of extended play.
Part II Comes Out Tomorrow
Come back tomorrow for the second part of this compelling study of poker and the pursuit of happiness women
