More on Opening

In my previous article I talked about opening. One of the important things I did not mention is that I think it is important to stay completely sober when you game and not drink at all. Many guys have liquid courage and can only approach or game while drinking. This is a huge crutch because you will condition yourself to only being able to game when you are drinking. Then you might have trouble running day game or be uncomfortable in environments where alcohol is not involved. Also, alcohol gives everyone bad breath and that can instantly blow a set. Another tendency guys tend to have is holding their drinks up to their chest when they are drinking. This is closed off body language and every AFC in the club does this. Do not be that guy. If you have a drink, or water, hold it down at waist level at all times.

Opening in a loud club can be quite challenging. You must talk loud enough so you are heard without shouting to the point where you sacrifice too much vocal tonality. A good way to get the sets attention is to gently tap them with the outside of your hand to initiate kino. They will turn into you and then you can run your opener.

I use different openers at the clubs than I use during the day. I use very short openers in the clubs because it is so loud and people have short attention spans and there is so much other stimulation out there that you have to get someone’s attention quickly.

It is good to have several different openers ready to use. You need one to open the set, one to merge sets and one in case you need to handle an interrupt. I have a default opener and two backup openers. My default opener is Mystery‘s 80s song opener. Since this is not really an opinion opener, I still use it frequently. I find this opener is great on both mixed and all female sets and people also laugh if you intentionally sing out of key.

Here is the dialogue I would say when using this opener:

Hey Guys, 80s song, I heard this on the radio today! I cannot get the song out of my head! Who sings this song, you spin me round, round baby, round, round, like a record, baby round….

If they do not know, I sometimes throw in a neg like, a lot of help you are!

I will then say, well my mom thought it was Lionel Richie, but I do not think it is Lionel Richie. A lot of younger women ask who is Lionel Richie, so then I neg them again and say, Lionel Richie is a singer, Nicole Richies dad! HEEEELLLOOO! This will get several laugh tracks. I say the opener with enthusiasm, and a lot of energy, as I try to sing it, intentionally off key to make it funnier, but I really do not care if they know the song or who sings it. The only purpose of my opener and any opener is to open the set, so I can transition directly into A2.

-Hawaii

I have opened more sets than I can count but my best estimate is around 10,000 cold approach sets. When I first moved to Vegas over 4 years ago, I went out 7 days a week for at least 4 hours a day and just opened constantly. There are endless sets in Vegas so someone could easily open over a 100 sets a day in only a few short hours. The sets are not just in the clubs here, but literally everywhere on the Strip.

When I first started in the game I used the David Bowie opener, and the 80s song opener. I used these openers so many times that girls called me out on it weeks later. One time Mystery and I were walking through Treasure Island several years ago and a girl walked by me, pointed at me and said, ?Hey, it?s the David Bowie guy!? I had no idea who she was but she certainly recognized me from the opener that I had run on several hundred sets.

I stopped using opinion type openers after a while because I realized that they were too long and the set would take too long to give their opinion. I was in fact ?milking? the opener. You should never milk your opener. Most new guys spend too much time on the opener and sometimes don?t even get into A2; they get blown out on the opener because it is too long, boring, etc. I never get blown out anymore on the opener because the openers I use are so short and I transition directly into A2 right after the opener without hesitating. The only purpose of the opener is to open the set so you can transition into A2. I soon found that the best openers are the shortest.

The most important thing when opening is your body language, tonality and facial expressions. It is best to open over the shoulder when possible. You should smile before you open and say anything, then once you start talking, don?t smile too much because it is too try hard. You should use a warm, friendly tone while body rocking in and out to which is a nonverbal false time constraint. This gives the appearance that you are leaving and not staying long. This nonverbal false time constraint can be coupled with a verbal false time constraint such as ?I can only stay for a second, I have my friends here.?

When opening, it is much more important how you say something that what you actually say. So many guys get caught up in and stuck on the opener. If you are looking for the perfect opener there isn?t one. Sometimes now I will just say in Mystery?s tonality ?Hello, Hello? as my opener. That?s it, and then I will transition directly into A2. I will talk a lot more about opening in future articles. If you have any specific questions on opening or inquires about training email me at Hawaii@venusianarts.com or call me at 702-286-7785

Hawaii