Throughout the month of September, we are taking out old posts, dusting them off and bringing them to you as an RPW refresher course. This post highlights a fundamental part of RPW theory that considers the tradeoffs we make when we make a decision on when to sleep with a man.

The Categories of Men

For every woman, no matter how attractive or unattractive, there are some stacked categories of men:

  • Men who are so far out of her league they won't give her anything.

  • Men who she can get sex from, but not a relationship.

  • Men who she can get a relationship with after having sex with them, if she plays her cards right.

  • Men who will commit to her before sex.

The order roughly corresponds to how desirable one can expect them to be. Changing her level of attractiveness will change who falls into each category, but not the existence or order of the categories.

  • The first category is off limits regardless of what she does.

  • The second category is the no-go zone that RPW basics advise avoiding at all costs.

  • The third carries more pre-commitment risk, as these men are more difficult to inspire attachment in, and can increase the n-count, but also less post-commitment risk, and a greater reward.

  • The fourth carries less pre-commitment risk, at the expense of greater post-commitment risk: unhappiness and hypergamous urges.

To be successful, a woman has to be able to:

  • Accurately sort men into these categories (this requires knowing her real SMV).

  • Decide what tradeoff she wants to make between pre- and post-commitment risk.

  • Focus her game skill development on whichever strategy she has chosen; focusing on femininity and character if she chooses pre-commitment risk, and self-discipline and expectation management if she chooses more post-commitment risk.