The pickup glossary: sets, openers, IOIs, frames, and more

Pickup forums read like a different language. "Opened a two-set with a situational, got solid IOIs, hit my sticking point at the number close." Translated: he talked to two women, they seemed interested, and he froze when it was time to ask for a number.

Much of this vocabulary started on the Usenet group alt.seduction.fast in the mid-1990s and spread through forums, books like The Game (2005), and later YouTube. Below is what each term means in the community, grouped by where it comes up. For the bigger picture, start with what pickup is.

The basics

PUA. Pickup artist. Someone who teaches or practices pickup. Also used for the community as a whole.

Seduction community. The wider scene of forums, coaches, books, YouTube channels, and local groups. Its history is in a short history of the pickup community.

Sarge / sarging. Going out to approach. Old forum slang that's mostly faded.

Set. A person or group you approach. A "two-set" is two people, a "three-set" is three. A "mixed set" has men and women in it.

In field / infield. Out in the real world approaching, as opposed to studying at home. "Infield footage" means recorded real interactions.

Wing / wingman. A friend who goes out with you, for company, accountability, and feedback.

Lair. A local group of men who meet up, go out together, and swap notes.

Bootcamp. A paid program, usually a weekend, where an instructor takes a small group out and coaches them live.

Field report (FR). A written account of a night out or a single approach, posted for feedback. See how to write a field report.

Approaching

Cold approach. Starting a conversation with a stranger with no introduction.

Social circle game. Meeting people through friends, work, classes, and parties.

Daygame. Approaching during the day, on the street, in shops, cafes, and parks. London became a center for it in the 2010s.

Night game. Approaching in bars, clubs, and at parties.

Opener. The first thing you say. The main types:

• Direct opener. States interest plainly. "Hi, I saw you walk past and wanted to say hello."
• Indirect opener. Starts with something other than interest, like asking for directions or a recommendation.
• Situational opener. Comments on something you're both looking at. "Is this line always this long?"
• Opinion opener. Asks a group for their opinion on a question. A staple of the Mystery Method era.

Approach anxiety (AA). The nerves before approaching. Common, and many people report it fading with repetition.

Three-second rule. Approach within about three seconds of noticing someone, before you talk yourself out of it. Associated with Mystery's teaching.

Peacocking. Wearing one attention-grabbing item, like a loud hat or unusual jewelry, so people have a reason to comment. Popular in the mid-2000s, and less often mentioned now.

False time constraint (FTC). Saying early on that you can only stay a minute ("I've got to get back to my friends, but quick question..."), so the other person doesn't worry about being stuck in a long conversation. Some coaches who teach it suggest using a real time limit.

Conversation and attraction

IOI (indicator of interest). A sign someone is interested: they turn toward you, ask questions back, laugh easily, stay when they could leave, touch your arm.

IOD (indicator of disinterest). The opposite: short answers, body angled away, looking past you, checking their phone. Many coaches teach wrapping up politely when you see several.

Hook point. The moment the other person starts actively investing in the conversation instead of just being polite.

Comfort / rapport. The phase where you get to know each other on a more personal level.

Threading. Picking up details from what someone says and following them to keep things moving.

Stack. A loose plan for a conversation's order, such as an opener, an observation about the person, then a question. Daygame teachers in London used "stacking" for chaining assumptions and observations.

Cold reading. Making a guess about someone from what you can see ("You look like you just came from a gym class") and letting them confirm or correct it.

Qualification. Asking what someone is about, or showing that you're choosing too, not just hoping to be chosen.

Cocky-funny. David DeAngelo's term for humor that mixes mock arrogance with playfulness.

Push-pull. Mixing warm signals with light teasing distance in the same exchange ("You're fun. We'd never work, though, you like pineapple on pizza").

DHV / DLV. Demonstration of higher value (or lower value). Mystery Method terms for behavior or stories that make you seem more or less socially valuable.

Social proof. Being visibly liked by others: arriving with friends, knowing the bartender, people laughing with you.

Routines / canned material. Pre-written stories, questions, or games used in conversation. Heavy in the Mystery era; some current coaches teach them as practice tools at most.

Neg. A backhanded or teasing remark aimed at the person you're talking to. Popularized by Mystery and The Game. Full background in negging explained.

Shit test. The community's term for a challenge or tease from the other person, read as a check on how you react. "Agree and amplify" is the common response taught: agree with the tease and exaggerate it until it's funny.

AMOG. "Alpha male of the group." Another man in the conversation who's competing for attention. The term itself uses the community's alpha/beta labels, which come from its own vocabulary.

Kino. Touch. "Kino escalation" means physical contact building gradually as mutual interest grows.

Escalation. Moving things forward: from talking to swapping numbers, from a drink to a date, from a date to a kiss.

Close. The outcome of an interaction. A "number close" means you swapped numbers; "kiss close" is a kiss. Other close terms describe sexual outcomes.

Instant date. Going somewhere together right after meeting, like a coffee next door.

Bounce. Moving to another venue together.

Logistics. The practical details of a night: where you are, who you're with, how close the next venue is, how everyone's getting home.

Flake. Someone gives you a number or agrees to a date, then doesn't follow through. Very common.

LMR (last minute resistance). Hesitation right before sex. Some older materials taught ways to get past it. A no or a pulled-back hesitation means stop.

Freeze out. Abruptly withdrawing attention so the other person notices the change.

Inner work

Inner game. Your beliefs, emotions, and sense of self-worth around meeting people. See inner game vs outer game.

Outer game. What you visibly say and do.

State. Your mood and energy in the moment. "Being in state" means warmed up and talkative.

Sticking point. The stage where you keep stalling, like opening well but never getting a number. See sticking points.

Frame. The way a person interprets a situation, and whose interpretation the conversation follows.

Natural. Someone who's good with women without having studied pickup. Also "natural game," the post-routines style of talking without memorized material.

Abundance mentality. The belief that there are plenty of people you could connect with, so no single rejection carries much weight.

Outcome independence. Approaching without needing a particular result.

Oneitis. Fixating on one person, usually someone who isn't returning the interest.

Plates / spinning plates. Dating several people at once, non-exclusively.

Notch count. The number of people someone has slept with.

Alpha / beta. Community labels for "dominant" and "submissive" male behavior, borrowed from animal-behavior terms.

What to do next

1. Learn ten terms, not sixty. Set, opener, IOI, IOD, threading, hook point, comfort, number close, sticking point, and field report cover most of what you'll read in a typical forum post.
2. Spot IOIs and IODs on your next three approaches. Afterward, write down two of each you noticed. If you can't name any, your attention may have been on yourself rather than on her.
3. Try one opener of each type this week. One direct ("Hi, I saw you and wanted to say hello"), one situational, one indirect. Note which felt most natural to say.
4. Find your sticking point. Look at your last ten approaches and mark where each one ended: never opened, opened then stalled, hooked but no number, number but no date. The stage with the most marks is your sticking point.
5. Write one field report in plain English. Use the jargon only where it saves words. If a friend outside the community couldn't follow it, rewrite it.

If you want those reports to add up to something, Run Game lets you log each approach as a success or rejection, and its outcome funnel shows where your interactions stop: got number, texted, date set, went on a date, dating. That funnel shows the same thing without the jargon.