Direct Vs Indirect Street Game

Street game is widely believed to be the hardest game to master (although lately it’s been pretty good to me). Women are on the move, trying to get somewhere, often irritated by the day’s insults and lost in their thoughts. Striding aggressively in heels and pencil skirts, the sight of the urban careerist chick motoring to her paper pushing job intimidates a lot of men. So guys who have effective pickup openers for street game are worth heeding. In that vein, I’ve been thinking about the advantages of direct and indirect street game.

RooshV is the most well-known proponent of indirect day game. The crux of his early game is what he calls “the ramble”. You make a seemingly innocuous, nonsexual and open-ended comment to a girl and use that as a springboard to draw her into deeper conversation, eventually terminating in a number close. (It’ll be next to impossible to pull a chick for sex in the middle of the day during her lunchtime stroll.)

Full disclosure: I have used Roosh’s “pet shop” opener on chicks walking around outside, and I have followed up with his “When I was in X…” big bait hook, with positive results. His style of street game suits my temperament. So my opinion here is apt to be biased. Nevertheless, I try to keep an open mind about different schools of game, the most notable being the direct daytime approach. A good example of direct street game was offered by one of his commenters “Richie”.

The indirect approach (pet shop opener, ask directions) kills me. I find the inane ramblings excruciating and therefore I never want to approach.
The direct approach is equally ridiculous. If a girl came running up to me and told me she saw me and have to come over to tell me how hot I’d was I think she was desperate and slightly unhinged. No thanks. I want to come across a smooth motherfucker not a love struck teenager. It’s also awkward and puts too much pressure on both parties to say something to make the situation less embarrasing.

I have found a good balance which is something inbetween the two.

1. Walk ahead of your target or cross the road then back over again so you approach from an angle.
2. Glance back towards her as if looking for something.
3. Catch her eye and do a FAKE double take
4. Still walking say “You have an interesting face”
her “thanks”…
“where you from”…
(and take it away for as long as possible before number close)

This process feels more natural, impulsive and shows you are interested in her right from the outset so asking for her number doesnt feel ridiculous after you have just asked for directions or some other indirect approach.

This sounds like it has potential, and is especially appealing because of its calculated spontaneity. “You have an interesting face”, spoken from over the shoulder, is direct, but slightly backhanded, because “interesting” can mean a few different things. And it avoids the problem of running up from across a plaza and slobbering over a chick with cloying flattery, a la “You’re really cute and I had to say hi.”

My issue with direct street game boils down to two nagging concerns.

1. I suspect direct game works better for very good-looking men, i.e. men in the top 5-10% of looks. Direct game presents a chick with a radical choice right at the start, and cornering her like that will force her to rely on more instantly perceived judgments of your attractiveness, which means your looks and swagger. I’m having a hard time picturing ugly men pulling off direct game with any consistent success, but I would like to hear about the experiences of men who don’t consider themselves good-looking who run direct street game. I think for the majority of men, the average men, indirect game gives them an opportunity to sidestep the automatic disqualification that hot babes will often stamp on men who hit on them on the sidewalk with direct come-ons.

2. Direct game makes follow-up conversation difficult because it minimizes the opportunity for “the ramble”. This, to me, seems a major handicap of direct street game. “Where is the nearest pet shop?” opens up the conversation for hooking the girl with big bait. It allows you to veer down multiple conversational avenues, and this advantage helps men who are naturally tongue-tied when talking to cute girls (which is most men, really). Direct game, in contrast, closes off these follow-up paths. Many men will be stuck for something to say after dropping the “you have an interesting face” opener, or the “where you from?” follow-up. This goes double if the girl does not react positively and scrunches her face instead.

One more beef I have with direct game, and it’s a minor one, is the type of girl it will be most effective on. Direct game would theoretically work best on impulsive and, yes, dumber girls who better appreciate the stark boldness of an assertive man. Indirect game, with its reliance on wit, situational awareness and verbal dexterity, would work better on less impulsive, smarter girls (i.e. SWPLs) who appreciate these qualities demonstrated in men. Since my experience with direct street game is limited, I’m willing to suspend final judgment on this point. I may in fact be totally off-base about the smart girl-dumb girl dichotomy with respect to direct vs indirect approaches.

Regarding the direct gamer complaint that “girls are gonna know what you’re up to anyhow”, I don’t find this argument persuasive. Girls will know your intentions no matter WHAT type of game you use. In fact, any kind of interaction with a girl is liable to be interpreted as interest in getting her naked. So there’s no good reason to worry about her suspicions. Girls KNOW. The only question that should matter to you is HOW you want girls to know. Most girls like it when a man couches his sexual intentions in plausibly deniable flirtations and rambles.

Instead of giving you the answers you seek, I will open the floor to this question of direct and indirect street game. Readers who have experience with both methods are urged to leave their stories in the comments. Be sure to include pertinent information like your looks, smarts, style and the class of girls you normally hit on. The best contributions will be included in a future post hopefully bringing some much-needed clarity to this eternal pickup community conundrum.