ok, my 2 cents (prolly ain't even worth that)...

x-mas... jewelry ok, but not the ring. rings are serious. i'm thinking the necklace would be nice (and safe).

b'day... a trip to NYC for a nice dinner and a broadway show. probably more expensive than jewelry, but also much cooler and "mature", imho. her friends will be very envious, plus it's something you can share. if you're lucky, you'll have been "together" by then, and you can consider staying overnight in a manhattan hotel. that'll likely be the best cootch you've ever had.

valentine's... don't get too crazy even if you do start dating. flowers (don't go crazy -- a dozen roses or a nice arrangement is enough) and really nice chocolates (not the cheesy stuff). godiva seems to work well if it's in the budget. slightly more affordable but probably cooler is . Based in SF and mostly (only?) on the west coast, the chocolates are AWESOME. i get the eye-popping reaction every time i give them as presents.


as a general statement, i want to say that i think you are not playing the dating metagame as well as you play poker. like it or not, most women don't want to think that they completely "own" a man. they want some challenge in the relationship. if you do something like get the matching jewelry set, while thoughtful, you come across as being as whipped as you actually are.

the attitude that seems to work (that's not crass) is just to have your actions represent that you enjoy the woman's company, but you have no shortage of things to do (or women to date) if you're not hanging with her. it doesn't really matter whether it's true or not, you just need to have that image. of course, it's best that you have other things that you actually enjoy doing besides being with her, but it's not completely necessary.

right now, you strike me as being completely pussy-whipped, and you're not even getting any. also, i STRONGLY recommend you stop referring to her as Mrs. Xaston, as that's WAY over the top. using her name or initials is fine.

i'll leave you with a sad-but-true axiom that holds true for most women (esp. young ones)-- the less you want them, the more they will want you.

ALso dood. If a girls your friend and you have that wierd apprehensiveness hanging aroudn your relationship, ya dont want to give her a gift that puts pressure on her. Does that make sense? Kind like, you dont want to get her a present that says 'you goddam well better fuck me and double anal fist me (should i so require))...and do jumping jacks all over my nutsack with stilleto shoes (yeS thatd be HOT!) and felch cheeze whiz outta my anus... after i buy you this present' (cuz the presents so tite that her pootang is your personal raquetball court after she accepts it type thing)

yeah you know what i mean right?

EDIT: Oh shit i just read what was above, in the form of the 'serious heartfelt advice'. Yeah i said ring -> no good. ANd also, i gotta hand it to a couple of mizors here at btp that have a knack for tellin shit like it is. [Kuso and Jus]. As the justices might say, i concur. Remember dudes, he is a young'un, he'll learn the way we all presumably learned, namely by his own mistakes.

Yeah I'll have to second MK there, the BTP brotherhood is all over this one. Just to put it in raw terms, if you ain't tapping that ass after a few dates then just put her on your friend list and start looking elsewhere.

This statement here is just gold and should be stamped in your memory:
"the attitude that seems to work (that's not crass) is just to have your actions represent that you enjoy the woman's company, but you have no shortage of things to do (or women to date) if you're not hanging with her. it doesn't really matter whether it's true or not"

I definitely agree on the law of escalating presents thing. And while jewellery's personal it's more of a 'special present to you because you're so special to me', whereas something like a signed 1st edition of her favourite book or something similar says 'I knew you'd love this because I understand you, I get you'. And that is what women love I find.

Personally I've never given a woman a ring in case she think I want to marry her and has a horrified look for a second. Or somehow says 'Of course i'll marry you'.

Just my opinion.

Molina

Wow...i haven't seen the entire BTP community come together so swiftly and in total agreement...well...EVER.

Xaston I think that means you should listen or something.

I'll have to agree again with the brotherhood. Get her a copy of the diary of Anais Nin.
http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl ... 828_1:3:79

LoL. Well Xas, like you said to me earlier, you knew what you were gettin yourself into by posting this question onna poker site! Of course, that dont mean it isnt right. The piers 'fave quote' from kuso is a good one, but my fave quote come from Juskimos reply:

"You dont want to be that guy. You will hate yourself when you end up standing there and smiling like a jackass when she introduces you to her BF, then thanks you for being such a good friend, kisses you on the cheek and leaves with him. "

Of course, he couldve added a little on the end there about him ravaging her in every orifice imaginable (and some not imaginable) just for emphasis, but i think the point still stands.

BTP IS BACK ONLINE. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I lost $622.15 yesterday over 2 sessions and losing the Super Tuesday. I was essentially card dead in the Super Tuesday so I pick up 95 of diamonds UTG and of course raise. The BB is the only caller, the flop is 934 rainbow, 1 diamond, and the BB IMMEDIATLY moves all in for about 800 into a 300 chip pot. I think for about 4 and a half hours and call, he has AJ and nails the A and I got knocked out shortly thereafter with my little cripple stack.

Today was more positive as I made $648 between my 3 $10/$20 tables and 1 $20/$40 table. That puts me up $25.85 for the last two days. Talk about spinning tires. Oh well, I'm very pleased that I got the month back over $4000 today and very pleased overall that I was able to make a nice turnaround this month after that TERRIBLE start.

The other day I made what looked to be the lock of all locks sports bet. A teaser of Chicago this coming sunday and the Colts this monday, Chicago -1/Colts -2 at -105 odds. I'm halway there! I'm a little upset with how my sports betting went. I was doing very well betting $25 and $50 and then my bankroll and ego got a bit bigger so I started betting $100 a pop and thats when my picks started losing . Now my bankroll is like a pathetic $100 (from a $1000 deposit). I would like to keep betting, but don't want to deposit more, so it looks like I'm gonna be making a bunch of $5 bets for the next year before I can bet anything significant again. Oh well.