Increasing your odds at the bar

Picture for a moment the lion as he comes across a herd of delectable gazelle in the savannah. The lion circles his prey, crouches in the shrub, and then pounces on the unsuspecting gazelle. The lion does not go after the fastest gazelle because he knows that he will never catch it; rather, he goes for the slowest.

If the goal is to catch food in order to survive, the lion was successful because he went after what he knew he could catch. The fastest of the gazelle’s is used to the advances of the lion and is quick to react. The lion knows that if he chases that prized gazelle, he will be passing up all the other gazelle in the process…so he lets it go. But in the end, even the fastest gazelle will eventually fall victim to a swifter and more cunning adversary
Its a Lose-Lose Situation

Now imagine you’re hanging out at the local bar. Whether you’re in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, or Vermillion…the setup is always the same. The women are concentrated towards the center of any location while the men hover eagerly around the periphery.

Women don’t go out to the bars alone, there are always going to be at least 2 or 3 friends along with them. As the women get comfortable around the center, the men will encircle them and slowly come in for the kill. But unlike the cunning lion, they prey on the most attractive women in the bar. Like clockwork, there will always be a woman that is clearly more attractive than all of her friends. Each man will make his approach at the attractive female, and one by one, they will all be rejected.

Just like the quickest gazelle, the attractive woman is used to these advances and even the cleverest approach has already been anticipated. By chasing the most attractive female, that male has automatically lost out on winning over her friends.

It’s not rocket science

Actually, its Game Theory economics—John Nash won a Nobel Prize for this. Nash states that rational self-interest hurts everyone, and instead, everyone wins through cooperative games. So if you’re out with a couple friends at a bar and you see that one attractive woman hanging around, remember that she has probably been hit on the entire night and already eluded some of the best. Sure we want the most attractive catch, but remember that there is only one of them and many of you. If everyone goes after the one girl, nobody will win because each will attempt to undermine the other. On the contrary, if you decide to go for her friends instead, everyone can come out a winner in the end.

Think about it.

Ron Zvagelsky has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2006. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of PlanJam.com - Fun and romantic first date ideas-- a new interactive planning website.