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The Pickup Artist

The Pickup Artist

The New and Improved Art of Seduction
by Mystery 2010 272 pages
3.45
100+ ratings
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Key Takeaways

1. Master the Art of Approaching: The Three-Second Rule

"Always be in a conversation with someone. And if you aren't in set, open the first set you like within the first three seconds of seeing them. That's the Three-Second Rule."

Overcome approach anxiety. The Three-Second Rule is designed to prevent overthinking and hesitation. By forcing yourself to approach within three seconds, you bypass your brain's natural tendency to come up with excuses or reasons not to approach.

Implement the rule effectively:

  • Smile when you walk into a room
  • Use a memorized opener or situational comment
  • Address the entire group, not just your target
  • Use active disinterest towards your target initially
  • Convey personality to the group through stories, humor, and anecdotes

Remember, the goal of the approach is not to impress or hit on the target, but to start a conversation and convey your personality. Practice this technique regularly to make it a natural part of your social interactions.

2. Develop Your Persona: The Ghost and the Flame

"Be entirely comfortable and at ease—remember the Ghost. Smile and have fun—remember the Flame."

The Ghost represents being unaffected, unreactive, and comfortable in any social situation. It's about maintaining a calm, cool demeanor regardless of external circumstances.

The Flame embodies enthusiasm, expressiveness, and positive energy. It's about being the source of fun and excitement in social interactions.

Balancing these two aspects creates an attractive and intriguing persona:

  • Ghost traits: Relaxed, disinterested, unreactive, cool, carefree
  • Flame traits: Happy, expressive, playful, talkative, enthusiastic

By embodying both the Ghost and the Flame, you create a dynamic and attractive presence that draws people in while maintaining an air of mystery and self-assurance.

3. Use Negs and Demonstrations of Higher Value (DHVs)

"A neg is a disqualifier. The girl is simply failing to meet your high expectations. It's not an insult, just a judgment call on your part."

Negs are subtle comments or actions that slightly lower a woman's perceived value or self-esteem. They're particularly effective with highly attractive women who are used to constant praise and attention.

Examples of negs:

  • "Nice nails. Are they real?"
  • "You have a unique laugh. It's cute."
  • "You're smart. You're like the girl next door. I don't have to worry about you."

Demonstrations of Higher Value (DHVs) are ways to showcase your attractive qualities without directly bragging. They should be subtle and often conveyed through stories or actions.

Effective DHVs:

  • Preselection: Show that other women find you attractive
  • Leader of men: Demonstrate social leadership
  • Protector of loved ones: Show you care for others
  • Social proof: Be seen as popular and well-connected

Use negs and DHVs strategically to create intrigue and attraction, but be careful not to overdo it or come across as insulting or arrogant.

4. Implement Group Theory and Social Proof

"Going for fives is just a self-esteem thing, not a skills thing. If you decide to chase nines and tens and only them, then that will be the skill set you get good at. They aren't harder to get, only different."

Group Theory is the understanding that attractive women are often in groups, and to successfully approach them, you must win over the entire group.

Key aspects of Group Theory:

  • Address the entire group, not just your target
  • Win over the "obstacles" (friends, especially males) first
  • Use social proof by being seen as popular with other groups

Social Proof is the concept that people are more likely to be attracted to you if they see others being attracted to you or valuing your company.

Ways to build social proof:

  • Have attractive female friends or "pivots"
  • Be seen as the center of attention in social situations
  • Have other men treat you with respect

By mastering Group Theory and leveraging Social Proof, you can more effectively approach and attract high-value women, even in challenging social situations.

5. Perfect Your Conversation Skills: Multiple Threading and the Absurd

"As long as it comes from the right place inside of you, the inner game of humor, you can make up anything you want and it will work."

Multiple Threading involves maintaining several conversational threads simultaneously, allowing you to switch between topics and keep the conversation engaging.

Benefits of Multiple Threading:

  • Prevents awkward silences
  • Demonstrates social intelligence
  • Keeps the conversation dynamic and interesting

The Absurd refers to using playful, imaginative, and sometimes nonsensical ideas in conversation to create humor and intrigue.

Implementing the Absurd:

  • Create outlandish scenarios or stories
  • Use unexpected analogies or comparisons
  • Embrace playful exaggeration

By combining Multiple Threading with the Absurd, you can create conversations that are engaging, memorable, and demonstrate your social value and creativity.

6. Escalate Physical Touch: Calibrated Kino Escalation

"Touching should be a normal and constant part of the way you interact with other people, from the very beginning. There should never be some big moment, but instead a series of tiny little moments, and they're always no big deal."

Kino Escalation refers to the gradual increase of physical touch throughout an interaction. The key is to make it seem natural and unforced.

Steps for effective Kino Escalation:

  1. Start with innocent, social touches (e.g., tapping shoulder while making a point)
  2. Progress to more personal touches (e.g., touching arm while laughing)
  3. Move to more intimate touches (e.g., holding hands, hugging)
  4. Always calibrate based on the other person's response

Remember to:

  • Make touching seem absentminded and natural
  • Use disinterest to balance out your touches
  • Always be the one to initiate and end the touch

By mastering Kino Escalation, you can build comfort and attraction through physical touch without seeming creepy or overly aggressive.

7. Create the Ideal Environment: The Pleasure Bubble

"The Pleasure Bubble, where there are no clocks and where time does not pass, and where she never wants to leave."

The Pleasure Bubble is an environment designed to make women feel comfortable, safe, and never want to leave. It's about creating a space that appeals to all senses and meets all needs.

Key elements of the Pleasure Bubble:

  • Cleanliness: Keep your space spotless and clutter-free
  • Comfort: Invest in comfortable furniture and soft textures
  • Ambiance: Use ambient lighting, candles, and pleasant scents
  • Abundance: Stock your space with food, drinks, and necessities
  • Entertainment: Have options for music, movies, and activities

By creating a Pleasure Bubble, you provide a space where women feel comfortable and want to spend time, increasing your chances of building deeper connections and intimacy.

8. Understand and Utilize Female Psychology

"Women do not hear your literal words anyway—they hear the DHVs and DLVs embedded in your speech."

Female psychology in attraction is often driven by evolutionary factors and emotional responses rather than logic.

Key aspects of female psychology to understand:

  • Importance of emotional stimulation over logical arguments
  • Attraction to men who demonstrate high value
  • Desire for men who are a challenge (not too easy to get)
  • Responsiveness to jealousy and preselection

Techniques to leverage female psychology:

  • Use storytelling to convey attractive qualities indirectly
  • Create emotional peaks and valleys in your interactions
  • Demonstrate preselection through social proof
  • Use jealousy plotlines to increase attraction

By understanding and utilizing female psychology, you can more effectively create attraction and build connections with women.

9. Practice Relentlessly: The More Doors You Knock On, The More Will Open

"Go out four times per week for four hours each night. Bring a digital voice recorder. Press record before you approach a girl and stop when done—or just record your whole night. Approach twelve girls in a night, which averages out to one every twenty minutes while in the club."

Consistent practice is crucial for improving your skills with women. The more interactions you have, the more comfortable and proficient you'll become.

Practice strategies:

  • Set specific goals for approaches per night
  • Record and analyze your interactions
  • Embrace rejection as a learning opportunity
  • Experiment with different techniques and environments

Remember:

  • Quality comes with quantity
  • Each interaction is practice for the next
  • Success breeds confidence, which leads to more success

By committing to regular practice and embracing the learning process, you'll steadily improve your skills and increase your success with women.

Last updated:

Review Summary

3.45 out of 5
Average of 100+ ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

The Pickup Artist receives mixed reviews, with an average rating of 3.45/5. Some readers find it entertaining and insightful, praising its techniques for building confidence and social skills. Others criticize it as misogynistic, manipulative, and poorly written. Many compare it unfavorably to "The Game" by Neil Strauss. Some women recommend reading it to understand and identify pickup artist tactics. The book's content is controversial, with opinions ranging from helpful self-improvement guide to problematic exploitation of women.

Your rating:

About the Author

Erik von Markovik, known by his alter-ego Mystery, is the author of "The Pickup Artist" and former star of a VH1 reality show of the same name. As a professional magician, he applied his skills of misdirection and showmanship to develop techniques for seducing women. Mystery gained notoriety in the pickup artist community, popularizing concepts like "peacocking" and "negging." His methods, while controversial, have influenced many in the dating and self-improvement spheres. The reality show, which aired for two seasons in 2007-2008, further cemented his status as a prominent figure in the pickup artist subculture.

Other books by Mystery

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