Istanbul Flaky Numbers

I’m writing in my favorite Caffè Nero in Nişantaşı, looking back on the last ten days of daygame Istanbul.

These stats conclude my third daygame trip to this city:

• Opens: 80
• Numbers: 22
• Replies: 9
• Dates: 0¹
• Lays: 0

This was by far the worst conversion from numbers to dates since the beginning of my daygame career. About half of the numbers replied, which in itself is better than my average. However, all of these leads eventually fizzled out over text, with the exception of the 3 leads that left town.

I’m trying to diagnose what went wrong. Overall, I felt I had no strong effect on the girls I approached. Even though I draw a lot of IOIs because of my unusual fenotype (in Turkey), I had only one set that felt electric. Girls readily gave their numbers, but in hindsight no set really felt on.

I suspect my vibe was a bit low. This meant my opens were often mechanical and low-energy. A couple of reasons I can think of:

• One of my two wings left town early. I get along well with the other wing, but this nevertheless changes the dynamic of the trip.
• I was working through some unpleasant emotions stemming from an unpleasant event that happened in September, affecting my self-esteem.
• I was on the second week of nicotine withdrawal. Although I, surprisingly, didn’t think of smoking much it still increases anxiety.
• I switched from an omnivore diet to a strict carnivore diet, sapping my energy for 5 days. I felt weak in the evening, having to rely on alcohol to boost my vibe.

Overall, I’m not panicking. My technical execution of the approach is still fine: I’m saying the right things in set, stopping girls correctly, closing distance whenever possible, and generally making my intent clear.

But it feels as if my technically correct punch lacked power. I just wasn’t into it. I rarely caught myself roaming the streets horny. Daygame became more of an intellectual puzzle to solve rather than a fun game to play. I suppose I was too serious.

Nevertheless, I’m really happy with this trip: I met up with friends, talked to some pretty girls, and revealed some weaknesses about my inner and outer game that I wasn’t fully aware of. I identified some inner game work I need to complete over winter and am excited to commit myself to improving my flaws.

This is why I have high hopes for the next season!