(Bear with me here theres a lesson in all this)
Have you ever played poker?
If you have, you may have heard of this strategy.
When you are involved in a hand it doesn't matter if you have the best hand or not. When the action comes to you, you will have some choices. These choices are usually as follows...
1. Fold - Somebody has bet and you are sure they have you
beat so you throw your hand away and save your $$$.
2. Call - If somebody has already bet you match that bet. Then
you turn over your cards and hopefully you have the
hand.
3. Raise - Whether somebody has bet before you or not. You
make the initial bet or re-raise someone elses bet.
Now the action is back to them. They have to decide
whether they will call your raise OR they fold.
If you choose to Fold you've lost the hand.
If you choose to Call the only way you can win the hand is by having the best cards.
If you choose to Raise you can win the hand in two ways. You have the best hand OR you force the other guy to fold.
So a good strategy in Poker is to frequently Raise and give yourself TWO chances to win the hand.
Now how does all this relate to approaching chicks and getting numbers you ask?
By immediately asking a stranger if she is single you are effectively giving yourself only ONE way to suceed. They are choosing whether they want to continue meet you based solely on your looks. That's it. Thats the only chance you are giving yourself.
Whether she's single or not is irrelevant. She's not under oath to tell you the truth and I bet more than half of the women you approach will lie to you about having a boyfriend just to get rid of you. Sorry but that's the truth. Unless you are seriously hot most chicks are going to blow you off because you are a stranger.
I've read some of the responses and I know you are trying to just get over your fears of approaching and the numbers are just icing to you. That is GREAT dude! Good work. But why not give yourself MULTIPLE ways to succeed in all these approaches. Hell you are going thru all the pressure and work to do 100 approaches and you are selling yourself short by using the "Are you single approach?"
By SLIGHTLY modifying your opener you can effectively double your success rate. You will be learning twice as fast and not selling yourself short like you have been.
I'm going to give you a few examples to try. They have been field tested personally and they work. They require no more balls than approach you are currently using and I guarantee you will be getting more positive results.
You like going to work at the bookstore
Funny that's my favorite too. Browse the store looking for extremely funny book titles. There are tons. The cornier and stupider the better. One of my favorites is a popular childrens book these days. Its called "Walter the Farting Dog". Trust me its there.
Some others,
"Childrens Guide to Hitchhiking"
"Kathy was so bad her Mom stopped loving her"
"Curious George and the High Voltage Fence"
"Getting Rich Quickly" by Robin Banks.
etc.
Once you start looking you'll be amazed at what kind of crazy stuff gets published and you'll be busting a gut too. Which is good because it puts you in a relaxed fun state of mind which is perfect.
Okay, spot your target and approach.
You: Excuse me
Her: Hi
You: Hi, I need an educated opinion on something (Note the sly compliment. She's already starting to like you.)
Her: Sure!
You: Would you recommend this book? (With a shyt eating grin of course)
Now here's where it gets a little freestyle depending on her reaction. If you've chosen a really funny book title she will undoubtedly laugh and you should laugh along. Most times she will play along and ask you something like, "You know it depends if you're looking for an intellectual read." or something like that.
If its a positive response you could even slip in another compliment like "You've got a good sense of humor."
If its a negative response or she just doesn't get it then you may have to ask yourself why bother. Maybe she's having a bad day. Maybe she's stupid. Maybe her dog died. Maybe she's just a flippin' beatch. Remember there's no harm in trying to brighten someone's day.
Either way you continue.
"Actually, I just noticed you from over there and was interested in meeting you." Introduce yourself and get her name. Remember her name!
Now if you want to cut it short and just ask for her number right then go for it. You probably have a good chance to keep some convo going though so keep it going.
When you do ask for her number do like this,
"It was great meeting you _____. Why don't you give me your number and we can chat some more sometime?"
If she agrees. Great. Tell her you're going to wait on that book until it goes on sale or something like that and then split. Smile and say talk to you soon.
If she says no or tells you she has a boyfriend you respond with another crack and a smile to show that you aren't the least bit discouraged and you were just happy to meet her.
Some "I have a boyfriend responses":
"Really that's great. I have a girlfriend maybe we should hook them up."
"Oh well that's great but actually I was more interested in you."
"That's great. Does he make you laugh? Good" (this one might make her wonder why she's with boring ol' whathisname when she could be with a fun guy like you)
No matter what you say "Nice meeting you ______. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."
Then you split.
Being direct is great. Cuts thru the crap and there's no shame in that.
I just think you could stand to make them laugh and smile a little before you go for the numbers. Give yourself more chances to succeed. Let them see you and your fun personality and how you can make them laugh.
Good luck Pug.
Cheers.