Understanding The Bar Scene

GreatHornedOwl

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I've been cutting my teeth from the bar scene in Chicago and Milwaukee for the past 3 years, and I have to say it can be brutal out there, as most guys know. You better bring thick skin, and a good game plan. Over the years, I've formulated a pretty decent one.

A common scenario for guys is this - I chatted with this hot girl for 15 minutes and got her number. She seemed interested, but I never heard from her again. What happened?

The funny thing about phone numbers is that they don't always equal interest. For starters, women are out on the weekends fully expecting guys to ask for it. In other words, their guard is up. And if it's one thing I've learned about the bars; don't ever chit chat with a girl for 15 minutes. I don't care what any PUA tells you about trying to establish value, etc. It will backfire. Which brings me to the second thing I've learned. Have you ever actually seen a guy waltz up to a group of attractive girls and try to gain social value? I have. It's an embarrassing sight to see. Don't do it.

There are a couple of reasons why you don't want to engage in lengthy conversation with women at bars - particularly attractive ones - they're constantly looking for reasons to disqualify you. I don't care how smooth you think you are, eventually your bullsh!t will start to stink. Boring small talk has the awkward tendency to produce random questions from women, and that's not a game you need to be playing. You're not there for a battle of wits, you're there to get the digits. Approach confidently, keep it to a minute, maybe two, get her number and end it. What if it's going well though? End it. Don't dawdle around and screw it up for yourself because you think you have it in the bag with the number. I've been down that road many times. Make a swift exit, you'll thank yourself later. The fact you wrapped the conversation up before she did shows a little decisiveness.

Another thing that I think needs addressing is the idea of "social value". This is highly touted among various PUAs in the community. Sure, you might have some with the girls in your social circle at work, or school. But what you have to understand is that you're in a crowded bar full of horny guys beer goggling. What little value you have is diminished to orange juice pulp when you walk over to a girl and try to establish it. It's like someone bragging about how humble they are. It's a paradox. The only thing you need in your arsenal is confidence. This is your silver bullet.

You can't establish value in a bar, but you can avoid looking like a loser. If it's one thing that amazes me about the bar scene, it's how the guys will stay there the entire night getting drunk while the girls usually stay for a few drinks, and they're out of there. A different groups of girls comes in and the cycle repeats. This is a recurring theme. By 12:00 a.m., the women are becoming more sparse and most bars are on the verge of becoming full blown sausage factories. What's left are the guys who were too scared to approach any girls, and the ones that just need a few more drinks to loosen up. In other words, losers. Regardless if you don't fit into that criterion, you will be guilty by association to the few girls that are left. At this point, don't even bother going up to them.

I'd like to delve into this a little more, because it's the most crucial and overlooked element of the bar paradigm. The prime hours for optimal success is going to be between 7 and 10:30 p.m. Rarely am I in a bar until 11 anymore. Get this out of your head that your chances will improve later in the evening. They won't, for the aforementioned reasons. The ratio of women to men is much better earlier in the night as well. Girls usually hit the scene earlier, and leave earlier than guys do. You need to swing this around in your favor. If you take one thing from this post, it's this: Leave the bar before the girl you approached does. It creates mystery and swings the power into your hands. Where did you go? Another bar? Meet up with friends? Ideally, I'll approach 4 or 5 girls and within 10 minutes I'm off to a different bar. Throughout the night I'll accrue 25 numbers. Which creates a logistics problem in regard to alcohol.

You have to ask yourself a question: Am I here to drink, or pick up women? You can't do both, not if you want results. It's a numbers game and you're going to have to chat up a lot of girls to compensate for the flakes that you'll get. If you want to be one of the guys I mentioned earlier that needs to get liquored up all night before taking action, end up talking to one girl and hoping it pans out, you have a tough road ahead. On the other hand a sober guy that has the guts to approach a girl, land the number then mysteriously leave the bar in a quest for more numbers is a much more intriguing option to her.
 

Ease

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I dont ask for a number unless we kiss on the night. Even then i get my ass kicked by overnight-interest-decline-syndrome. All the girls are just out for kicks, they either want to reject losers, or get seen kissing a guy.

Best way to dating and relationships is social circle game, bar and club game is too hit and miss. My new plan of action is going to be same night lays, when i get into it again. That is honestly the way to go.

Although from my experiences with overnightinterestdecline is that you need to go further and build more, so id have to disagree. Otherwise you're another guy amongst thousands that night. Club and bar game is stacked against us, it requires extra strong swagger.
 

iqqi

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I don't know you but I feel sad for you. It is sad that you can't just go out to have fun, and maybe meet a girl or two in the process of living your life and having a great time doing whatever you want. You whole goal for going out is to get numbers, for what? sex? You are wasting all of your nights out, thinking this long drawn out process of what works vs what doesn't work, all regarding women. Your plans should be about YOU having fun with friends, drinking, dancing, or enjoying the atmosphere of a bar/club/lounge/restaurant you enjoy.

You are thinking way too much. And placing way too much importance on Pvssy, which will be your destruction. I mean, it is already literally ruining your life.

Plus, I think you are gravely mistaken about the 7pm-11pm thing, leading me to question your reality. I don't even know girls who go out before 9 or 10pm. Hell most of them plan on leaving the house around 10 or 11pm but it takes them so long to get ready they often aren't leaving the house til close to midnight.
 

Ease

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iqqi said:
I don't know you but I feel sad for you. It is sad that you can't just go out to have fun, and maybe meet a girl or two in the process of living your life and having a great time doing whatever you want. You whole goal for going out is to get numbers, for what? sex? You are wasting all of your nights out, thinking this long drawn out process of what works vs what doesn't work, all regarding women. Your plans should be about YOU having fun with friends, drinking, dancing, or enjoying the atmosphere of a bar/club/lounge/restaurant you enjoy.

You are thinking way too much. And placing way too much importance on Pvssy, which will be your destruction. I mean, it is already literally ruining your life.

Plus, I think you are gravely mistaken about the 7pm-11pm thing, leading me to question your reality. I don't even know girls who go out before 9 or 10pm. Hell most of them plan on leaving the house around 10 or 11pm but it takes them so long to get ready they often aren't leaving the house til close to midnight.
Guys going for girls is like girls going for guys, so stop *****ing woman.

Why do girls spend 2 hours getting ready just so guys look at them?
Why do they freeze themselves wearing nothing out just so guys look at them?
Why do they spend their money on clothes and products just so when they go out at night, guys look at them?

Why can't they just go out without having to care about getting attention from men? Are they that desperate!

You can make everything sound bad if you try. If im single or willing/safe to cheat, i think about pulling girls when im out. It's life and its nature, you can't change it. What else is one to do when girls are dying to get your attention by advertising themselves all night?
 

zekko

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Why do they freeze themselves wearing nothing out just so guys look at them?
Lol, I have always though that was funny. Most girls I know (who aren't fat) tend to get cold a lot easier than guys do. They don't have as much muscle mass to keep them warm. And yet they go out in cold weather showing all this extra skin like they belong to the polar bear club or something. It's kind of strange.

As to the OP, what got my attention was the numbers. 25 numbers in a night, 4-5 numbers a bar? It's a numbers game so if that's what you're playing there's nothing wrong with that. But it's not surprising the flake rate is so high when you're getting that many numbers in a night. You can't be talking to these girls more than a few minutes at a time. Seems like there isn't much time to build attraction or getting to know who you're talking to.

I guess if you're doing this strictly for sex it's fine, but otherwise how can you even be qualifying these girls?

Seems to me that if you spend a little time talking to them and you are a cool guy, they will remember you as that cool guy they talked to, and be less likely to flake. As opposed to that guy who got their number and ran out of there. But whatever works for you I guess.
 

Kailex

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iqqi said:
I don't know you but I feel sad for you. It is sad that you can't just go out to have fun, and maybe meet a girl or two in the process of living your life and having a great time doing whatever you want. You whole goal for going out is to get numbers, for what? sex? You are wasting all of your nights out, thinking this long drawn out process of what works vs what doesn't work, all regarding women. Your plans should be about YOU having fun with friends, drinking, dancing, or enjoying the atmosphere of a bar/club/lounge/restaurant you enjoy.
Funny you mention this, because I think my greatest success nights were nights were I clearly wasn't outcome dependent on getting numbers.

Then again, I was a bartender myself for a while, so I knew what worked and what didn't. I pretty much withdrew from trying to hook up at bars late at night. If you go out for the sole purpose of having a good night, you WON'T be let down. But if you go out hunting and don't catch anything, then your night was a crap shoot.

Plus, I think you are gravely mistaken about the 7pm-11pm thing, leading me to question your reality. I don't even know girls who go out before 9 or 10pm. Hell most of them plan on leaving the house around 10 or 11pm but it takes them so long to get ready they often aren't leaving the house til close to midnight.
I disagree with this though, but I guess it depends on the situation or maybe because I'm a bit older.

But I've met a TON of women at happy hour at 5:30 after work. I've also met women at 8 PM at a local social bar and whatnot.

I'm just going off the OP's title "Understanding the Bar Scene".

Now if we're talking just straight up nightclubs, that's a whole different deal.
After the age of 25, I just stopped going to those when I was out "hunting". Takes a while to grasp the concept of fun, but in general, you're a little more at ease if you go out to have a good time.

Just an example, I went out for the Game 7 between the Lakers and Celtics... ALONE. Went to a bar just to have a few beers and watch the game. I was the ONLY guy cheering for the Lakers, other than ONE other guy. He walked over and we began talking about the team. We had a good time watching the first quarter and then he asked me to join his friends. I met all of his friends, including a few women and got a number out of the deal. I still meet up with them and I've gone out with that girl a few times.

And all I wanted was a few beers and a good game.
 

zekko

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Then again, I was a bartender myself for a while, so I knew what worked and what didn't.
Care to share a few of the insights that you gained, Kailex?
I know I would like to hear them.
 

Kailex

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zekko said:
Care to share a few of the insights that you gained, Kailex?
I know I would like to hear them.

The #1 thing I noticed was guys trying TOO HARD.

I worked at a trendy nightclub scene and the guy who basically had no "talk game" was the one failing miserably.

The #2 thing I noticed was guys that bought drinks for women were usually the ones that left empty-handed. If they're getting free drinks, the challenge for them is gone. There were many women I saw whose "challenge" was to get a free drink from a guy. Those who got tired of waiting and just disappeared... not worth the time and trouble. Those who stuck around and even bought the guy a drink, worth it.

#3 (And I know some people are gonna hate this): Know your bartender. I know a lot of guys here think that tipping a bartender is lame and that they are just over-tipped people that are handing you a beer. In most cases, yes. But in some cases, a bartender can be your greatest ally and your greatest wingman. Let me clarify... a GOOD bartender can be your greatest ally and your greatest wingman. I had a few people that came over during the week, would tip well (And I'll be honest, I'm not expecting tips on beer) and then on the weekends, I KNEW who they were, what their mission was and I'd do my damnest to help these people get their marks. Call me the Cupid of Bars, but what some guys don't realize is that 20 to 30 minutes you might spent waiting for your next drink.. AWAY from your mark is time enough for someone else to scoop her up.

Also, it helped in the sense that it was incredible social proof for the guy as well. "Oh snap, you know the bartender at XXX place?"

#4 Be dressed for success. WE know this but you have no idea how many people try to go out looking like trash.

#5 Go out for fun, not with a an intended purpose. I know men go out for the purpose of getting women, but when you make your whole night about it, you kind of miss the point and I'd see so many guys come across as desperate, specially around closing time. That's when you saw guys' standards dropping from 9's to 5's. Their mentality was so skewed with "OMG I NEED A GIRL" that they'd be willing to take any half-drunk warpig they could find.

#6 Don't get DRUNK. Holy hell. I saw so many guys make fool of themselves.

#7 Don't get THEM drunk. Holy hell. I saw so many women throw up after a guy wasted money on gaming them and getting them drunk.

#8 Don't use recycled lines. I know all the PUA crap is popular but women can tell when you are coming up to them with some rehearsed crap. It never sounds natural and if you find a smart one, they'll disarm you and embarass you in a heartbeat.

#9 Don't give up after the first one. Look, at a nightclub/car, I've seen many guys who gave up after the first girl and just sulked in a corner and complain about women.

#10 Sometimes her friend likes you. You have no idea how many times I'd see a guy walk up to a girl and her friends are there. The guy tries to get the mark, she's not interested, but the friends are receptive to him. He walks away thinking he lost his chance, and then I hear the chatter from the friends saying that he's cute and that if he came up to her, she'd give the guy a chance. That's why it's important to talk to EVERYONE in the group. That girl you got a feel for in the beginning might actually lead to someone else.

#11 Don't take the night seriously. If you're looking for a potential wife at a nightclub, you're probably going about it in the wrong way. Work your way up first to actually get a phone number or to get her out of the bar.

These are just some of the ones I could remember. But they seem pretty obvious?
 

zekko

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Thanks for taking the time to type that up, Kailex. I rep you.
The tips may seem obvious to you, but I was curious to get the perspective from a bartender.

#10 is interesting, about the friend. I suppose most guys think that if they didn't get the girl that they chose, they failed, and slink off. Sometimes the friend is more discerning than the girl who initially catches your eye.
 

Robert28

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not to hijack the thread but the one problem i have alot of times with bartenders is when i tip, they don't see me. i don't know how it is where you worked, but the bars around here have tip jars on the bar. well, let's say a beer costs me $3 and i pay with a $5. when he or she gives me my change and i go to stick it in the jar for a tip, they never see me do it! maybe they know if i tip pr not, but unless they have hella periferal vision or eyes in the back of their head, i don't see how they could know if i tipped or not. i know they can't stand there wand WATCH me drop it in the jug, but i sometimes feel like i'll tip them all night and they don't have a clue that i'm tipping them. i've tried the "keep the change, man" but they tell me to just put it in the jar.haha
 

everywomanshero

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OP,

I agree with you on some points. The phone number does not mean much unless it is connected with her actually wanting to see the guy again, otherwise it is just a nice way to get rid of the guy. I also agree with not drinking much, if you get all liquered up and she does wanna leave, now you have to hope she is driving or lives within walking distance.

However, I disagree with getting out of dodge before you screw anything up!
That is definitely not confidence! I've had the best luck when I stick around, not when I turn tail and run off with the number. I walk them to their car, make out with them, and then depending on the situation either close the deal or make plans to meet up.

As far as the times,the early crowd is usually friendly and less likely to put up an attitude, as are women in pub type settings. I've pulled out of a pub at 9pm before and she even left all her friends to go home and ****. I think it's always an option if you are willing to go for it, sometimes you will be rewarded. More pulls have been bar closers of course, but just sayin I never rule anything out. There's also some clubs near me that have consistently produced better results than others for me, and I think it has a lot to do with personality and age. Other friends have had exactly the opposite results with each of us fairing better in the clubs that attract people closer to our own ages.
 

jonnnb

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Op, pay no mind to the words of iqqi.

iqqi is an old woman just trying to shame you for being a young man.
iqqi has been here years and has repeatedly shown an inability to understand or empathise with we Men...or is it just a penis-envied refusal to.
it has repeatedly shown an inability to understand or empathise with the world or 'dating, sex, love etc' as viewed through our eyes. That our collective and individual experiences are so very different from women.
it is locked out of our world, a world it cant or refuses to understand.
Pay no mind to the words of iqqi.

What could it possibly understand about the world, the thoughts, the feelings of you - a young Man. What?


Also you may be correct that in your area, in the type of bars/clubs you as a young Man frequent that young women may only be around between 7 to 11pm



Note:
There are women on this board who have shown they can understand and empathise with our experiences, our feelings. And indeed offer suggestions - Penkitten and Cinamon come to mind
 
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GreatHornedOwl

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I offer my proven advice, from bars most guys would fall on their face in; it gets disagreed with, hijacked, and the script gets flipped by a former bartender who thinks he knows more than me, but ironically said a lot of the same stuff I did.

For a group of guys, I often think there's a lot of catty behavior and feminine activity on this site.

I'm not interesting in going tit-for-tat with you people. Suffice to say I'll think twice about sharing my knowledge.

P.S. - In regards to "Knowing your bartender". Most bartenders - in a crowded bar full of hot women - are not going to be overly friendly with their male clientele. And they're certainly not going to let you steal their shine and use them for value. The only exception to this would be if you were in a dive bar, where there weren't many people. And those are depressing. Which is probably the type of joint that guy works for.
 
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nismo-4

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Kailex said:
The #1 thing I noticed was guys trying TOO HARD.

I worked at a trendy nightclub scene and the guy who basically had no "talk game" was the one failing miserably.

The #2 thing I noticed was guys that bought drinks for women were usually the ones that left empty-handed. If they're getting free drinks, the challenge for them is gone. There were many women I saw whose "challenge" was to get a free drink from a guy. Those who got tired of waiting and just disappeared... not worth the time and trouble. Those who stuck around and even bought the guy a drink, worth it.

#3 (And I know some people are gonna hate this): Know your bartender. I know a lot of guys here think that tipping a bartender is lame and that they are just over-tipped people that are handing you a beer. In most cases, yes. But in some cases, a bartender can be your greatest ally and your greatest wingman. Let me clarify... a GOOD bartender can be your greatest ally and your greatest wingman. I had a few people that came over during the week, would tip well (And I'll be honest, I'm not expecting tips on beer) and then on the weekends, I KNEW who they were, what their mission was and I'd do my damnest to help these people get their marks. Call me the Cupid of Bars, but what some guys don't realize is that 20 to 30 minutes you might spent waiting for your next drink.. AWAY from your mark is time enough for someone else to scoop her up.

Also, it helped in the sense that it was incredible social proof for the guy as well. "Oh snap, you know the bartender at XXX place?"

#4 Be dressed for success. WE know this but you have no idea how many people try to go out looking like trash.

#5 Go out for fun, not with a an intended purpose. I know men go out for the purpose of getting women, but when you make your whole night about it, you kind of miss the point and I'd see so many guys come across as desperate, specially around closing time. That's when you saw guys' standards dropping from 9's to 5's. Their mentality was so skewed with "OMG I NEED A GIRL" that they'd be willing to take any half-drunk warpig they could find.

#6 Don't get DRUNK. Holy hell. I saw so many guys make fool of themselves.

#7 Don't get THEM drunk. Holy hell. I saw so many women throw up after a guy wasted money on gaming them and getting them drunk.

#8 Don't use recycled lines. I know all the PUA crap is popular but women can tell when you are coming up to them with some rehearsed crap. It never sounds natural and if you find a smart one, they'll disarm you and embarass you in a heartbeat.

#9 Don't give up after the first one. Look, at a nightclub/car, I've seen many guys who gave up after the first girl and just sulked in a corner and complain about women.

#10 Sometimes her friend likes you. You have no idea how many times I'd see a guy walk up to a girl and her friends are there. The guy tries to get the mark, she's not interested, but the friends are receptive to him. He walks away thinking he lost his chance, and then I hear the chatter from the friends saying that he's cute and that if he came up to her, she'd give the guy a chance. That's why it's important to talk to EVERYONE in the group. That girl you got a feel for in the beginning might actually lead to someone else.

#11 Don't take the night seriously. If you're looking for a potential wife at a nightclub, you're probably going about it in the wrong way. Work your way up first to actually get a phone number or to get her out of the bar.

These are just some of the ones I could remember. But they seem pretty obvious?
Filed under Judge nismo's bar game tips!

I gotta spread more rep around though. Damn.
 

zekko

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I offer my proven advice, from bars most guys would fall on their face in; it gets disagreed with, hijacked, and the script gets flipped by a former bartender who thinks he knows more than me, but ironically said a lot of the same stuff I did.

For a group of guys, I often think there's a lot of catty behavior and feminine activity on this site.

I'm not interesting in going tit-for-tat with you people. Suffice to say I'll think twice about sharing my knowledge.
Lighten up a little brother, this is a message board after all. You post your message and other people give their opinions on it. That's the way it works. We didn't know you were the only one allowed to talk.

Not everyone is going to agree with you.
Not everyone is going to have the same opinion as you.
Not everyone is going to have the same experiences as you.
Not everyone is going to have the same goals as you.
What works for you may not work for everyone.
These are all good things.
Kailex's tips were completely on topic with the subject line "Understanding the Bar Scene".
 

Kailex

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I didn't intend to hijack your thread, I was simply replying to a question that zekko posed to me.

GreatHornedOwl said:
I offer my proven advice, from bars most guys would fall on their face in; it gets disagreed with, hijacked, and the script gets flipped by a former bartender who thinks he knows more than me, but ironically said a lot of the same stuff I did.

For a group of guys, I often think there's a lot of catty behavior and feminine activity on this site.
If anything, I'd say my list seems to compliment yours in a certain way.
And by catty behavior and feminine activity, do you mean this:

I'm not interesting in going tit-for-tat with you people. Suffice to say I'll think twice about sharing my knowledge.
And then this:

P.S. - In regards to "Knowing your bartender". Most bartenders - in a crowded bar full of hot women - are not going to be overly friendly with their male clientele. And they're certainly not going to let you steal their shine and use them for value. The only exception to this would be if you were in a dive bar, where there weren't many people. And those are depressing. Which is probably the type of joint that guy works for.
Sir, you are mostly correct. MOST bartenders ARE like that. Most of them are NOT professional and I saw it with my own two eyes with co-workers in the past.

And I don't know if you meant "me" as being the guy that works for a depressing dive bar, but it was far from being that. Once again, catty behavior?
 
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