Dating

I play poker on Facebook and I’ve noticed something. Many of the guys are absolutely ridiculous. If you’ve never played before, your profile picture shows up on the “seat” that you’re playing on, therefore, people can see what you look like if you actually use a picture of yourself. There’s also a little chat window where the players in the room can talk to each other. It never fails that in at least 1 out of every 3 rooms there is some guy hitting on some woman he doesn’t know.

It’s funny to watch really. For example, some woman had a guy demanding her to email him. He kept putting his email address in the chat, asking her how old she was and telling her that she was pretty. She kindly tried to brush him off but then when he wouldn’t back off, she told him to leave her alone and blocked his chat talk. I had some guy type “Hey sexy how are you?” immediately followed by “Are you single?” Wait, hold on, here’s my number.

I have yet to see a woman do this to a man. No it’s not me being sexist, I honestly have never seen it in any poker room I’ve been in. It truly makes me laugh how guys will continuously hit on women with stupid pickup lines and actually think that any self respecting woman is going to fall for it. Because of course, as soon as I see the words “Hey ma, you single?” directed at me, I get all hot and bothered.

Guys, and for any women that do this as well, pickup lines make you appear dim-witted. They make us laugh at you whether they’re said in person or in an online poker room. They don’t make us want to talk to you, get to know you or basically do anything that has to do with you. Plain and simple, you look like a fool.

So how are you supposed to pick up women in an online poker room you ask? Well, I would suggest not, but it’s going to happen anyway. Therefore, if there is someone that you’re particularly interested in, find something to bring up to that person. For example, if you live in the same area talk to them about that. Bring up sports teams, current events, etc. to other people in the room and incorporate that person into the conversation. If you choose to take the talk with that person further, then send them a friend request. You’ll seem much less creepy then just a random guy who saw a girl in a poker room, didn’t talk to her, and stalked her out to be her friend. She’ll know who you are at least, then can choose to approve or deny.

When you meet someone with dating potential online, you may be embarrassed to tell your loved ones how you actually met. Maybe your grandmother and other older members of your family wouldn’t understand, but chances are the younger members will. Times have changed. With all of the social networking sites, forums and dating sites on the internet there are plenty of opportunities for you to meet your potential match. There’s no reason for you to pass up dating someone worthwhile just because you’re afraid of what others are going to think.

Dating online does not, and I repeat does not, mean that you’re a loser. It’s simply another way that you can meet people. Who cares what other people think. You’re the one that’s going to be dating this person, not them. Let them say what they want. As long as you’re happy with what you’re doing, their words shouldn’t matter.

So you meet someone online and decide after awhile that you want to meet in person. Where exactly is a good place to meet?

The best place is a public location half way between the both of you. Never go to that person’s location.

I’ve read situations where a person says that they have been talking to someone online that lives far away and that that person wants to pay for them to come and stay with them for a few days. This is a bad decision in so many ways. You’re being taken far away from your home to an area where you don’t know anyone else. If you get into a bad situation, you have to fumble around to try to get help in an area that you know nothing about. This person could be psycho and be trying to lure you to them. I’m not saying that all men and women who are willing to pay the way of someone to come and visit are psychos, but there are those that are. Also, if you have to ask if this situation is okay, then you already know the answer.

There’s no reason to put yourself in that type of position. If the person wants to see you that badly, they can pay to fly out near you and stay in a hotel. Don’t let them make you feel guilty about not coming either.

Also, it’s better off that your date doesn’t know where you live, at least for awhile. Wait and see how they are. If you don’t end up liking them but they can’t take no for an answer, the last thing you want is them knowing where your home is.

Before you go to meet someone, make sure that it is in a safe public area. You don’t want to risk your life for a date.

Dating websites. It’s a way to evaluate the person that you’re talking to before you even met them. I’ve had quite a few people tell me that they saw someone that interested them on a dating website, then the first message they received from this person completely turned them off. Don’t let this happen to you. Be careful of what you write and how you sound!

Check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Trust me there’s not much else that’s worse then when a person sounds like an idiot. Spell check was invited for a reason. The other person is going to look at this message and think that the author would sound so much worse in person. Why? Well you have time to review the message before you send it and you can take all the time you need to look it over. In person you can’t. If a message is riddled with spelling and grammar errors, expect to get ignored (unless the person is as bad as you are).

Don’t talk about money. Someone who is really looking to get to know you won’t care (at least not right away) about how much you make. When you talk about all the money you make, it sounds like you have zero class and that you’re trying to overcompensate for what you’re lacking.

Leave any form of sex talk out of your message. A genuine person looking for someone to date isn’t going to want to read that. If you’re looking for a fling or are looking for someone to brag to about how you are during sex, you should probably look elsewhere.

Just send over a brief message about your family, your job, friends, etc.. Basically talk about things that you can mention that can create interest and also leave room open for them to send a message back to you with questions to keep the messages going.