Went out with two friends to a bar. I decided I only wanted to drink water tonight, to focus on my game.

Saw a guy alone at the bar, so approached him. Told him he looked lonely, and we struck up conversation. His friends then rolled through, and I met them too. They ended up getting another table, so I returned to my friends.

I saw the loner guy get up to talk to a girl at another table and then return to his friends. A fellow gamer? I was intrigued and went over to rejoin their group, teasing him about his rizzing. Turned out it was a friend of his, and they joined the table. My other friend pulled up and I invited him to the table as well.

We had some conversation getting to know everyone. Felt socially lubricated.

We followed this group to another cocktail bar which was quite busy and also had more people standing around and mingling which seemed more conducive to game rather than static tables.

I saw a mixed set of 3 girls and 1 guy. An asian girl caught the eye of my wingman, so he went to approach the group and told me to join after he opened.

He opened from one side and I joined from the other side. I started talking to this older girl, but failed to recognize her IOIs because I was focused on one of the other girls in the group. I transitioned to my new target, but after putting out some feelers I could tell she was not receptive. I returned to the older girl and engaged in some deep conversation and banter. She was fully squared up to me, deep eye contact, laughing excessively at everything I said, and asking me very engaged questions. I played with kino escalation, touching her arm, holding her hands, leaning in close to hear her better. She was highly receptive to my escalation. Our faces were also very close when talking just due to the loudness of the venue, and I felt the urge to kiss her. However, I did not, partly because it felt like it would not be beneficial to be making out in the middle of her friends.

After about almost an hour of conversation, I started to feel drained and low energy because it was late and I was getting tired. The set felt like it was stagnating and I was having trouble keeping the conversation and vibe going. I told my wingman that I was planning to leave, so I went for a number close.

My takeaways: Should have recognized the receptivity of this girl from the start and stayed on her instead of switching targets and failing and needing to return to her. I realize the benefit of opening the whole group and choosing a target afterwards.

Should have calibrated my escalation to her high interest. I could have gotten away with even more, such as more extended touch, touching her waist, or even her hair and neck.

Have a plan in mind and always be closing. The moment I had escalated to us being close together and touching hands meant she was open to being kissed. All I had to do was lead her to a more private place, whether another place in the venue, another venue altogether, or to the street and then her / my place. Because I didn’t lead, I ended up stagnating the set and having to settle for a number close.