You may think you or one of your buddies is a good pickup artist. But chances are your seduction skills are bush league compared to those of Mystery, a pickup artist who charges thousands of dollars for seminars on how to attract beautiful women. Mystery -- he prefers to go by that moniker -- was a primary source behind the bestselling book The Game, Rolling Stone writer Neil Strauss's look at the world of professional pickup artists. By the time he was done studying at the feet of the master Mystery, Strauss went from a geeky writer to a babe magnet with a Rolodex full of numbers from gorgeous women.

Now Mystery has his own "how to" book: The Mystery Method: The Foolproof Way to Get Any Woman You Want into Bed. Having studied the dating and mating interactions between the sexes for years, Mystery has a system, full of terminology like "approach anxiety," "anti-slut defense" and "indicators of interest" to describe how men and women relate. He offers suggestions on what to do and what not to do. Buy her a drink? Don't do it, he argues: She should be buying you drinks.

Since every guy can use a little more game, Playboy.com asked Mystery to lay out his key tips to seduction.

Start the conversation
There is a step-by-step process that every relationship goes through, from when you first meet a woman to having a sexual relationship (this doesn't apply to one-night stands, but sustained sexual relationships). This process usually takes between four and 10 hours from the time of first meeting a woman to having sex. Guys should focus on the process itself, practicing each step, much more than focusing on trying to get a girlfriend. Practice opening conversations with women. "It's not the idea that guys should go out and hit on everybody," Mystery says. "Do not telegraph interest until you have received indicators of interest. If the girl's not interested in you and all she got was a great conversation, that's fine. At least the next time you see her she's not gonna say, 'Oh, yeah, that guy hit on me.'"

Service with a smile
"People who don't get laid don't smile," Mystery says. "If you want to convey that you have value for other women, just smiling alone will raise your attractiveness." Men can be intimidating to women, so you should smile, even when just hanging out with your buddies at the bar. "I'm not saying to keep a fake American smile," Mystery notes. "Just make it clear you're always having a good time."

Channel your inner superhero
"If I'm standing at a table with four people and I lean down over anybody, it creeps them out," Mystery says. "You're invading their space. You're paying way too much attention, you're telegraphing too much interest." Instead, stand farther away and when you talk, speak slowly. "Speaking slowly allows you to feel almost like a superhero, like in Spider-Man, when there's a bully in the hallway and he throws a punch and it's all in slow-mo. In a loud environment, you need to slow down. This alone will improve your game by 300 percent."

Break character
When guys are in clubs they often act as if they are playing a character. Their emotional state doesn't ebb and flow, and they give off this "trying to get the girl" vibe. Be emotive. If she says something to you that is offensive, call her out on it. Be fair about it. Use lots of humor as well as emotional and sensory descriptions. Demonstrate that you have emotional circuitry in your head.

Bragging wrongs
Don't brag about your job, girls, friends or anything else. Instead, obliquely convey your value via incidental story details. If she can tell that you are trying to impress her, she will perceive you as lower value. For instance, tell her a story about a trip you took with an ex-girlfriend, and mention off-hand that she was a bartender or a dancer -- women who are generally attractive.

Niece girls finish first
When you first meet a girl, don't ever act as if anything is a big deal. Mystery advises, "Just be fun and playful all the time. Vibe with her but don't have emotional reactions to her. The same way you would act with your eight-year-old niece. You have no intention other than to protect and take care of your nieces. You're not out to get anything from your nieces. You want the woman in your life to know that you don't need anything from her, that you have no intent to take anything from her."

Variable interest rate
Do not show her interest until she shows you interest. Once you've gotten some indicators of interest from her, then you can show her some interest. But be careful how you do this. "For example, don't put your hand on her knee -- if she grows uncomfortable, she'll move her knee, and you're locked out," Mystery says. Instead, show some interest by taking her hand and putting it on your knee. If she leaves it there, great. "If she's getting uncomfortable, say something simple like, 'Can ya cook? No? Then I'm done with you,' and take her hand off your knee, so it appears as if she's chasing you and you're not interested."

Advance and retreat
Balance "indicators of interest" with "indicators of disinterest." This has a nuclear effect. If you keep telling her how great she is, she's going to think you want something from her. If there's a group of four girls, and you don't get along with one of them, you're demonstrating that you're not faking. Mystery says, "And one-on-one, for instance, I could say to her, 'I love you...too bad you're not taller.' I'm putting an indicator of disinterest on the end of an indicator of interest. If she re-engages the conversation, that's an indicator of interest from her."

Successorize
Wear one accessory that gives a girl an opportunity to initiate a conversation -- it could be a cool hat, a nice watch, a funny T-shirt, as long as it stands out. A girl might be attracted to you, but she might have nothing to say to introduce herself. "Wear an item so a woman can come up and say, 'Where did you get that?' What she's really saying is, 'I'd like to talk to you.' It allows you to have a conversation."

Have a life
You should go to the gym and stay in shape. Continually improve your wardrobe -- have some fashion that stands out. Cultivate your circle of female friends who don't have any romantic interest in you, so when she hangs out with you, she's not threatened. Throw parties. "A girl should imagine herself being a part of your cool life," Mystery says.